Baby’s World

I wish I could take a quiet corner in the heart of my baby’s very
own world.
I know it has stars that talk to him, and a sky that stoops
down to his face to amuse him with its silly clouds and rainbows.
Those who make believe to be dumb, and look as if they never
could move, come creeping to his window with their stories and with
trays crowded with bright toys.
I wish I could travel by the road that crosses baby’s mind,
and out beyond all bounds;
Where messengers run errands for no cause between the kingdoms
of kings of no history;
Where Reason makes kites of her laws and flies them, the Truth
sets Fact free from its fetters.

              – Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

• Written by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), a Bengali poet
• The poet wishes to enter and live in the world of a baby – a world of every possibility and free from all kinds of chains and responsibilities.
• Everything is possible in the baby’s world. A baby lives in imagination, doesn’t have to be saddened by the harsh realities of life.  And he isn’t bound or judged by Reason and Truth; he is granted all kinds of excuses.

Interpretation of the Poem

This poem is composed by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), a Bengali poet. In this poem, he wishes to enter and live in the world of a baby – a world where everything is possible and is free from all kinds of chains and responsibilities. In the baby’s world, stars talk, sky stoops down, and angels bring gifts to him, and so on. He lives in dreams, and thus doesn’t have to be saddened by the harsh realities of adult life. Moreover, he is neither bound nor judged by Reason and Truth as adults are done, and he is granted all kinds of excuses. Hence, the poet wants to live in the baby’s world.

GLOSSARY

stoop (v): to bend down
amuse (v): to make somebody laugh or smile
creeping (v): moving slowly and quietly
bounds (n): the furthest limits
errand (n): a job for somebody that involves going somewhere
fetters (n): chains that are put around a prisoner’s feet