THE ROMANTICS 162In another early poem, 'The Strange Grief (p. 22), which clearly underlines
the metaphysical dimension of the poet's sorrow, he writes:
My grief is different from all others
It is strange in the world of sorrow
My grief is a thought that sings
But is unknown to the ear of Time.
Yet I have heard its sound in my heart
In the midst of my intoxicated youth
And ever since I have been sad at heart
Singing of my sorrow, like a mountain bird..
Other people's grief is like a torch
That fades and dies in the course of time
But mine is settled in my soul
Where it will remain till eternity...
I am a sad stranger in the world of sorrow
No one bears a tenth of what I feel
So bitter is my grief, yet when my soul screams
My very own body can hear nothing.
In 'The Orphan's Complaint' (p. 29) nature again cannot be of any avail, so
profound is the poet's sense of isolation. The poet's cry is lost in the roaring
of the unheeding sea, ignored by the totally uncomprehending woods and
likewise by the indifferent river. He asks Mother Nature for help but she
cannot hear him. Feeling orphaned he ends by urging himself to shut up.
Because of Shabbi's keen awareness of the ultimate indifference of Nature,
unlike Abu Shadi, he does not find joy in her, but rather a confirmation of
his own feelings of sorrow. Projecting his own suffering on Nature he believes
that there is a bond between her and man, since both are subject to the
tyranny of cruel times and are therefore united by common suffering (see
for instance his poem on 'The Faded Lily' and 'The Remains of Autumn',
pp. 31, 62). Indeed Shabbi's attitude to nature remained unchanged all his
life. In moments of acute spiritual (and later physical) suffering his thoughts
about death (and perhaps his premonition of his impending death) could not
allow him to see nature as a healer or as a source of joy. In 'Song of Sorrows'
(p. 47) he writes:
Whoever has heard the voice of death and the echo of tombs
Is not lured by the songs of birds
Amidst the enchanting spring flowers
Or the smiles of life revealing the glory of the Lord.
To the rebellious poem 'To God' — in which he claims that he has not found
in this world the compassionate God who is alleged to create his creatures