Sri Aurobindo
Collected Poems
SABCL - Volume 5
II. Sonnets
1930–1950
The Yogi on the Whirlpool
On a dire whirlpool in the hurrying river
A life-stilled statue naked, bronze, severe
He kept the posture of a deathless seer
Unshaken by the mad water’s leap and shiver.
Thought could not think in him; flesh could not quiver;
The feet of Time could not adventure here:
Only some unborn1 Power nude and austere,
Only a Silence mighty to deliver.
His spirit world-wide and companionless
Seated above the torrent of the days
On the deep eddy that our being forms,
Silent, sustained the huge creation’s stress,
Unchanged supporting Nature’s rounds and norms,
Immobile background of the cosmic race.
Later edition of this work: The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo.- Set in 37 volumes.- Volume 2.- Collected Poems.- Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 2009.- 751 p.
1 2009 ed. CWSA, vol.2: unknown