“HONEY, child, honey, child, whither are you going?”

The speaker, likely the mother, addresses the daughter affectionately as “Honey, child” and asks where she is headed.

“Would you cast your jewels all to the breezes blowing?”

The speaker questions whether the daughter is willing to let go of her valuable possessions, symbolized by jewels, letting them be carried away by the wind.

“Would you leave the mother who on golden grain has fed you?”

The speaker emphasizes the care and nourishment provided by the mother, questioning if the daughter is ready to leave that maternal bond.

“Would you grieve the lover who is riding forth to wed you?”

The speaker brings attention to the lover eagerly heading towards the daughter for their wedding, asking if she is willing to sadden him by not going through with it.

“Mother mine, to the wild forest I am going,”

The daughter responds, addressing her mother, and reveals her intention to go to the untamed forest.

“Where upon the champa boughs the champa buds are blowing;”

She describes the forest, mentioning the Champa trees where the Champa buds are blossoming.

“To the köil-haunted river-isles where lotus lilies glisten,”

The daughter continues to describe the forest, mentioning a river haunted by Köil (the Asian koel, a bird) and adorned with shining lotus lilies.

“The voices of the fairy folk are calling me: O listen!”

She expresses that the fairy folk’s voices in the forest are calling her, urging her mother to listen to their enchanting call.

“Honey, child, honey, child, the world is full of pleasure,”

The mother responds, addressing her daughter again, acknowledging the allure of the world.

“Of bridal-songs and cradle-songs and sandal-scented leisure.”

She describes the pleasures of the world, including celebratory songs for weddings and lullabies for cradles, as well as the leisure associated with the scent of sandalwood.

“Your bridal robes are in the loom, silver and saffron glowing,”

The mother points out that preparations for the daughter’s wedding are underway, with bridal robes being woven in silver and saffron colors.

“Your bridal cakes are on the hearth: O whither are you going?”

She reminds the daughter that everything is ready for the wedding, questioning why she would want to go elsewhere.

“The bridal-songs and cradle-songs have cadences of sorrow,”

The daughter responds, acknowledging that the songs associated with weddings and cradles also carry tones of sadness.

“The laughter of the sun to-day, the wind of death to-morrow.”

She poetically reflects on the fleeting nature of happiness, comparing it to the laughter of the sun today and the potential sorrow brought by the wind of death tomorrow.

“Far sweeter sound the forest-notes where forest-streams are falling;”

The daughter expresses her preference for the soothing sounds of the forest, particularly the notes and streams, which she finds much sweeter.

“O mother mine, I cannot stay, the fairy-folk are calling.”

She concludes, expressing her inability to stay because the fairy folk in the forest are calling her, suggesting a strong, almost magical, attraction to nature.