Thursday, March 02, 2006

Poetry Thursday - Tagore



Art Credit: MUON LA HU KHONG
Anh cua Nguyen Ngoc Danh



My Song


This song of mine will wind its music around you,
my child, like the fond arms of love.

The song of mine will touch your forehead
like a kiss of blessing.

When you are alone it will sit by your side and
whisper in your ear, when you are in the crowd
it will fence you about with aloofness.

My song will be like a pair of wings to your dreams,
it will transport your heart to the verge of the unknown.

It will be like the faithful star overhead
when dark night is over your road.

My song will sit in the pupils of your eyes,
and will carry your sight into the heart of things.

And when my voice is silenced in death,
my song will speak in your living heart.

~Rabindranath Tagore~



Rabindranath Tagore, 1851-1941
He is the most revered Indian writer of modern literature. A poet, a novelist, and an educator, Tagore also became a painter late in life. He was a composer and set many of his poems to music. Born into a political family Tagore was an advocate of independence for India. Internationally acclaimed, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. Although he wrote his most important works in Bengali, he often translated his poems into English.


14 comments:

robin andrea said...

How nice to be reminded of Rabindranath Tagore. What a beautiful poem. I remember reading his poems when I was in my 20s. Years ago I read a transcript of a conversation he had with Albert Einstein. It's worth following the link just to see their spectacularly aged faces:
Tagore and Einstein

Tabor said...

What a nice breath of fresh air in a rather difficult day. You are a good corner of peace.

Patry Francis said...

I love Tagore. Thank you for this lovely poem. I'm going to sleep now and reading it is a wonderful way to end (or begin) a day.

Maureen said...

I loved that poem - Tagore is someone I read occasionally, but not enough. so thank you, Sky, for sharing that one. It's beautiful -- and the photo with it is equally lovely. Perfect match.

And thanks to rexroths'daughter for the link to Tagore and Einstein's conversation - that was really interestng!
Maureen

liz elayne lamoreux said...

oh yes. thank you for this. (i have to admit that the last lines sucker punched me a bit...but reminded me that this is true...the song of the departed does speak in my heart...thank you)

and I really appreciate that you share information about the poet as well. i love learning this.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing him. I love learning something new. Really beautiful.

MB said...

Thank you so much. And thanks to RD for her addition. This made for a lovely interlude in my day.

Sky said...

RD - thank you so much for your link to Tagore and Einstein!

Tabor - thanks and glad this brought you quiet contemplation.

Patry - always nice seeing you and glad you enjoyed this.

Maureen - thank you!

Liz - interestingly, there is something very comforting in the last lines for me...that we all linger and live in those we love.

Jacqueline - welcome and I, too, love to learn new things...great fun!

MB - yes, RD's addition was such a delight!

Lorna said...

Rabindranath Tagore had been a constant in my life since I learned to read.

Laini Taylor said...

I have a book of Tagore -- and I also adore his name and plan to use it (Rabindranath, not Tagore) for a character in the children's fantasy series I'm writing. Thanks for your comment on my blog -- sounds like you've had a lot of good travels. There's so much of the US I haven't seen yet. When I have kids of my own I hope we'll do some driving/camping trips.

daringtowrite said...

Sky, Thanks for sharing this. Following your poetry thursday blogs is going to be a great inspiration to me and I'm also looking forward to more of your stories.

Tammy Brierly said...

"when my voice is silenced in death,
my song will speak in your living heart." I loved this line, it is beautiful!

rdl said...

wow, I really liked that, thanks for sharing it.

Paul said...

Hi Sky - Thanks for the cheetah questions. According to awf.org, cheetahs live 10-12 years. However, my Kenya guides told me that they live around 7-8 years because there are so many pressures on them in the wild. Khayam died of renal failure. They gave him a kidney transplant to save his life, but he died three days later.

Thanks for visiting my blog and I enjoyed the poems that are on your post!