2 quotations linked to The Gardener by or associated with Rabindranath Tagore, with source notes, explanations and related topics.
Love, sorrow, longing, hope, beauty, relationship, distance and the willingness to remain emotionally open despite pain.
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“Thy breath comes to me whispering an impossible hope.”
Longing for what seems beyond reach still carries a form of hope, even while the speaker openly recognizes distance, limitation and uncertainty.
Source note: The Gardener, poem 5, translated by Tagore from Bengali; Project Gutenberg #6686. The poem repeatedly addresses the “Great Beyond” and “Far-to-seek,” so the hope is lyrical longing rather than a factual prediction.
“Trust love even if it brings sorrow. Do not close up your heart.”
The advice refuses to make sorrow a reason for emotional withdrawal, presenting openness to love as worthwhile even when attachment can also bring pain.
Source note: The Gardener, poem 27; Project Gutenberg #6686. This is dialogue within a lyric sequence, and the surrounding exchange explicitly pairs love with tears and enduring sorrow.