Thursdays With Tagore - May 6

Every Thursday, I shall read one of Tagore's poems as translated in this book or some other poem I can find. I shall post some lines from the poem and perhaps a detail of how I liked this poem or not. Any others who want to join in this meme are absolutely welcome to do so!

Last Curtain  

I know that the day will come  

when my sight of this earth shall be lost,  

and life will take its leave in silence,  

drawing the last curtain over my eyes.  

Yet stars will watch at night,  

and morning rise as before,  

and hours heave like sea waves casting up pleasures and pains.  

When I think of this end of my moments,  

the barrier of the moments breaks  

and I see by the light of death  

thy world with its careless treasures.  

Rare is its lowliest seat,  

rare is its meanest of lives.  

Things that I longed for in vain  

and things that I got  

---let them pass.  

Let me but truly possess  

the things that I ever spurned

and overlooked.

The thing that strikes me about this poem, apart from its wonderful message and feel, is its beautiful flow. I love how Tagore moves from the concept of  death itself to his reaction and lessons from it. These are my favourite lines:

Rare is its lowliest seat,  

rare is its meanest of lives.  

Things that I longed for in vain  

and things that I got  

---let them pass.  

Let me but truly possess  

the things that I ever spurned

and overlooked.