I have plucked your flower, O'World!

I have plucked your flower, O world!
I pressed it to my heart
and the thorn pricked.
When the day waned
and it darkened, I found that
the flower had faded,
but the pain remained.

More flowers will come to you
with perfume and pride, O world!
But my time for flower-gathering is over,
and through the dark night
I have not my rose, only the pain remains.

- Rabindranath Tagore ('The Gardener')