Sri Aurobindo

Letters on Poetry and Art

SABCL - Volume 27

Part 1. Poetry and its Creation
Section 1. The Sources of Poetry
Examples of Overhead Poetry

Evaluations of 1934 – 1937 [1]

Madonna Mia

I echo her life’s rhythm of reverie

By spacious vigil-lonelinesses drawn

From star-birds winging through the vacancy

Of night’s incomprehensible spirit-dawn.

My whole heart fills but with the glowing gloom

Where God-love blossoms her ethereal grace:

The sole truth my lips bear is the perfume

From the ecstatic flower of her face.

Will you please tell me its effect as a whole and, if possible, where the inspiration comes from?

It is good. I could not very definitely say from where the inspiration comes. It seems to come from the Illumination through the higher Mind — but there is an intuitive touch here and there, even some indirect touch of “mental {{0}}overmind”[[{{SA}}There are two ranges of overmind which might be called “mental” and “gnostic” overmind respectively — the latter in direct touch with supermind, the former more like a widened and massive intuition.]] vision hanging about the first stanza.

9 February 1934