Sarojini Naidu’s “Medley: A Kashmeri Song” strings together brief, vivid images from the natural world and pairs them with human feelings. Poppies on a roof and iris on a grave lead into hope in a lover and fear in a slave; opals in a river and pearls in the sea are set beside doubt in grief and faith in calm. The speaker does not argue or narrate so much as draw quiet parallels, as if the landscape and the heart follow the same rhythms. The poem grows lighter in the middle, where fireflies, wind-blown peach leaves, and a poet’s dreams all dance together, then settles into a closing note that mixes sweetness, childhood joy, and the peace of death. The overall mood is lyrical and meditative—tender toward beauty, aware of sorrow, and finally accepting.
Medley: A Kashmeri Song — Summary
The poppy grows on the roof-top, The iris flowers on the grave ; Hope in the heart of a lover. And fear in the heart of a slave.
The opal lies in the river. The pearl in the ocean's breast ; Doubt in a grieving bosom, And faith in a heart at rest.
Fireflies dance in the moon-light. Peach-leaves dance in the wind ; Dreams and delicate fancies Dance thro' a poet's mind.
Sweetness dwells in the beehive, And lives in a maiden's breath ; Joy in the eyes of children And peace in the hands of Death.