Lallji my Desire

"This is no time for saying 'no'"Were thy last words to me,And yet my lips refused the kissThey might have given thee.How could I knowThat thou wouldst goTo sleep so far from me?

They took thee to the Burning-Ghat,Oh, Lallji, my desire,And now a faint and lonely flameUprises from the pyre.The thin grey smoke in spirals driftsAcross the opal sky.Would that I were a wife of thine,And thus with thee could die!How could I knowThat thou wouldst go,Oh, Lallji, my desire?The lips I missedThe flames have kissedUpon the Sandal pyre.

If one should meet me with a knifeAnd cut my heart in twain,Then would he see the smoke ariseFrom every severed vein.Such is the burning, inward fire,The anguish of my pain,For my Beloved, whose dying lipsImplored a kiss—in vain!How could I knowThat thou wouldst go,Oh, Lallji, my desire?Too young thou artTo lay thy heartUpon the Sandal pyre.

Thy wife awaits her coming child;What were a child to me,If I might take thee in these armsAnd face the flames with thee?The priests are chanting round the pyre,At dusk they will departAnd leave to thee thy lonely rest,To me my lonelier heart.How could I knowThou lovedst me so?Upon the Sandal pyreHe lies forsaken.The flames have takenMy Lallji, my desire!