The Further Bank

Rabindranath Tagore 1861 (Kolkata) – 1941 (Kolkata)



I long to go over there to the further bank of the river.
    Where those boats are tied to the bamboo poles in a line;
    Where men cross over in their boats in the morning with
ploughs on their shoulders to till their far-away fields;
    Where the cowherds make their lowing cattle swim across to the
riverside pasture;
    Whence they all come back home in the evening, leaving the
jackals to howl in the island overgrown with weeds.
    Mother, if you don't mind, I should like to become the boatman
of the ferry when I am grown up.
    They say there are strange pools hidden behind that high bank.
    Where flocks of wild ducks come when the rains are over, and
thick reeds grow round the margins where water-birds lay their
eggs;
    Where snipes with their dancing tails stamp their tiny
footprints upon the clean soft mud;
    Where in the evening the tall grasses crested with while
flowers invite the moonbeam to float upon their waves.
    Mother, if you don't mind, I should like to become the boatman
of the ferryboat when I am grown up.
    I shall cross and cross back from bank to bank, and all the
boys and girls of the village will wonder at me while they are
bathing.
    When the sun climbs the mid sky and morning wears on to noon,
I shall come running to you, saying, "Mother, I am hungry."
    When the day is done and the shadows cower under the trees,
I shall come back in the dust.
    I shall never go away from you into the town to work like
father.
    Mother, if you don't mind, I should like to become the boatman
of the ferryboat when I am grown up.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:28 min read
114

Quick analysis:

Scheme abcdeaefGhijklmnopGHeqrsmtuvaGH
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,563
Words 293
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 31

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore FRAS was an Indian polymath—poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He reshaped Bengali literature and music as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. more…

All Rabindranath Tagore poems | Rabindranath Tagore Books

6 fans

Discuss the poem The Further Bank with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Further Bank" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/29553/the-further-bank>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    13
    hours
    34
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    From Ralph Waldo Emerson’s The Test, “Sunshine cannot _____ the snow, Nor time unmake what poets know.
    A bleach
    B beseech
    C reach
    D leach