Gitanjali — Song 71
Gitanjali — Song 71
Rabindranath Tagore
That I should make much of myself and turn it on all sides, thus
casting coloured shadows on thy radiance—such is thy _maya_.
Thou settest a barrier in thine own being and then callest thy severed
self in myriad notes. This thy self-separation has taken body in me.
The poignant song is echoed through all the sky in many-coloured tears
and smiles, alarms and hopes; waves rise up and sink again, dreams
break and form. In me is thy own defeat of self.
This screen that thou hast raised is painted with innumerable figures
with the brush of the night and the day. Behind it thy seat is woven in
wondrous mysteries of curves, casting away all barren lines of
straightness.
The great pageant of thee and me has overspread the sky. With the tune
of thee and me all the air is vibrant, and all ages pass with the
hiding and seeking of thee and me.
Verse breaks and indentation are preserved. Wrapped lines have a hanging indent. Width adapts to your screen.
Complete 103-poem English Gitanjali, translated by the author and published in 1912. · Translated by Rabindranath Tagore
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