I looked for Thee alone, but met my glance
The iron dreadful
Four who rule our breath,
Masters of falsehood, Kings of ignorance,
High sovereign Lords
of suffering and death.
Whence came these formidable autarchies,
From what inconscient
blind Infinity, -
Cold propagandists of a million lies,
Dictators of a world
of agony?
Or was it Thou who bor'st the fourfold mask?
Enveloping Thy timeless
heart in Time,
Thou has bound the spirit to its cosmic task,
To find Thee veiled
in this tremendous mime.
Thou, only Thou, canst raise the invisible siege,
O Light, O deathless Joy, O rapturous Peace!
14-11-1938
Sri Aurobindo
Reference: # 94 in "Les poèmes de Sri
Aurobindo" (bilingual edition)
also in "More Poems" - 61
all published by Sri
Aurobindo Ashram - Pondicherry
diffusion by SABDA