The age of infancy

The earth and sky were unknown worlds to me

Only the expanse of mother's bosom was a world to me

Every movement was a symbol of life's pleasure to me

My own speech was like a meaningless word to me

During infancy's pain if somebody made me cry

The noise of the door chain would comfort me

Oh! How I stared at the moon for long hours

Staring at its silent journey among broken clouds

I would ask repeatedly about its mountains and plains

And how surprised would I be at that prudent lie

My eye was devoted to seeing, my lip was prone to speak

My heart was no less than inquisitiveness personified

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—Explanatory Notes1. Allusion to the "spots" on the moon’s surface which are the shadows of its mountains but variously described in nursery rhymes and tales of fantasy