I thought that my voyage had come to its end at the last limit of
my power,–that the path before me was closed, that provisions
were exhausted and the time come to take shelter in a silent
obscurity.
But I find that thy will knows no end in me. And when old words
die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart;
and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with
its wonders.
That I want thee, only thee–let my heart repeat without end.
All desires that distract me, day and night, are false and empty
to the core.
As the night keeps hidden in its gloom the petition for light,
even thus in the depth of my unconsciousness rings the cry–‘I
want thee, only thee’.
As the storm still seeks its end in peace when it strikes against
peace with all its might, even thus my rebellion strikes against
thy love and still its cry is–‘I want thee, only thee’.
When the heart is hard and parched up, come upon me with a shower
of mercy.
When grace is lost from life, come with a burst of song.
When tumultuous work raises its din on all sides shutting me out
from beyond, come to me, my lord of silence, with thy peace and
rest.
When my beggarly heart sits crouched, shut up in a corner, break
open the door, my king, and come with the ceremony of a king.
When desire blinds the mind with delusion and dust, O thou holy
one, thou wakeful, come with thy light and thy thunder.
From: GITANJALI – ‘Song Offerings’
Links
Gitanjali home
Tagore Short Poems
Tagore Stray Birds
Tagore Poems