Despair on the Staircase

A poem by Sri Aurobindo


Despair on the Staircase

Mute stands she, lonely on the topmost stair,
An image of magnificent despair;
The grandeur of a sorrowful surmise
Wakes in the largeness of her glorious eyes.
In her beauty's dumb significant pose I find
The tragedy of her mysterious mind.
Yet is she stately, grandiose, full of grace.
A musing mask is her immobile face.
Her tail is up like an unconquered flag;
Its dignity knows not the right to wag.
An animal creature wonderfully human,
A charm and miracle of fur-footed Brahman,
Whether she is spirit, woman or a cat,
Is now the problem I am wondering at.



Part VII : Pondicherry (Circa 1927-1947) > Lyrical Poems from Manuscripts (Circa 1934-1947)   




How to read the color-coded changes below? 1. SABCL version : lines with any changes & specific changes 2. CWSA version : lines with any changes & specific changes

Sri-Aurobindo/books/collected-poems/despair-on-the-staircase.txt CHANGED
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ In her beauty's dumb significant pose I find
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  The tragedy of her mysterious mind.
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8
  Yet is she stately, grandiose, full of grace.
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  A musing mask is her immobile face.
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- Her tail is up like an unconquered flag,
10
+ Her tail is up like an unconquered flag;
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  Its dignity knows not the right to wag.
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  An animal creature wonderfully human,
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  A charm and miracle of fur-footed Brahman,

NOTES FROM EDITOR

October 1939. Three handwritten manuscripts.



Manuscript