1.3 Basketful of Moonlight. English Poem ( Explanation ) Std - 10th poem. 2018-19. Explanation and meaning

1.3 Basketful of Moonlight.

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Explanation in Marathi

O moon,

give me moonlight basketful or two baskets full,

with seeds of moonlight.

From the city to my village,

on the sides of the path

I want to sow many,

small, small moons of light.

The whole village goes to the city

daily to work.

It becomes dark on its way back

as my village is quite far.

The route is tough and full of snakes and scorpions.

Neither bus nor cart piles.

 When my father returns home 

I am asleep.

The poet as a child asking for moonlight and he wants the seeds of moonlight in plenty.

The child desperately needs the seeds of moonlight to sow them on both sides of the path from the city to his village because every day many people go to the city to earn their wages. As the village is far away from the city, when the villagers come back in the evening it is almost dark and late to reach back. The path or route is very difficult and dangerous as many poisonous creatures like snakes and scorpions are there in the way and there is no vehicle to bring them safely to their homes, they have to come by walk only, facing all these difficulties.

The father of the child is also going to the city for work, who comes late at night in that darkness. The child is asleep when his father comes back at night. And that is why the child wants many small moons on the way to illuminate the path to his village. He really cares for his father. 

And he goes back early in the morning

while I'm sleeping. 

O moon give me a basketful of moonlight.

On loan.

I want to light the dark route

so that my father returns early.

I too want to hear fairy tales

and stories from him.

 O moon,

give me a basketful of moonlight

I want to sow seeds of moonlight on the sides of the path.

-Sunil Sharma ( translated from Dogri)

The poet further adds that his father who comes late due to darkness while he( the child) is asleep, goes to work, early in the morning while the child is still sleeping. 

       In both conditions, the child is unable to meet his father. He wants to listen to the fairy tales and the stories about the world he wants to pass quality time with his father, he wants his father to come back early in the evening, so he wants a basketful of moonlight from the moon. He is ready to pay for it,  he wants it on loan because he wants his father with him entirely and safely.