Monday 17 September 2012

But it is a heart, my beloved. Where are its shores and its bottom ?...by Rabindranath Tagore

Your questioning eyes are sad. 
They seek to know my meaning 
as the moon would fathom the sea.

I have bared my life before your eyes from end to end, 
with nothing hidden or held back. 
That is why you know me not.

If it were only a gem I could break it into a hundred pieces
and string them into a chain to put on your neck.

If it were only a flower, round and small and sweet,
I could pluck it from its stem to set it in your hair.

But it is a heart, my beloved.
Where are its shores and its bottom ?

You know not the limits of this kingdom,
still you are its queen.

If it were only a moment of pleasure
it would flower in an easy smile,
and you could see it and read it in a moment.

If it were merely a pain it would melt in limpid tears,
reflecting its inmost secret without a word.

But it is love, my beloved.
Its pleasure and pain are boundless,
and endless its wants and wealth.

It is as near to you as your life,
but you can never wholly know it.

~ Rabindranath Tagore
The Gardener
Art by Nik Helbig

1 comment:

  1. I am restless.
    I am athirst for far-away things.
    My soul goes out in a longing to touch
    the skirt of the dim distance.



    I am eager and wakeful,
    I am a stranger in a strange land.



    Thy tongue is known to my heart as its very own.
    O Far-to-seek, O the keen call of thy flute!



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