Theme: Afterlife

The Twilight Prayer

The Twilight Prayer11.jpg
I found -
In the twilight hours of my tired consciousness
My body is flowing along the dark flow of time
With all its senescence, all its pains
With all its memories and songs 
In various colors and forms
Accumulated since the day I was born.
Floating far yet far it loses its shine -
In the familiar villages and towns
Shaded by trees and plants
The evening prayer bells ring
They have become faint 
All the doors are now closed
Their lamps can no more be seen
With the coming of night
The ferry doesn't ply
In the woodlands
The singing birds make no sound.
Covered by a deep dark formless color
The vast world has lost all its various forms. 
Like a shadow, a mere point,
In this limitless darkness my body sinks.
Standing alone under the star-studded sky
Looking above I pray with folded hands,
O sun, you have withdrawn your light
Now reveal your most merciful form
And let me see that one
Who is the same both in you and me.
Translation of poem 9 (Dekhilam – abasanna chetanar godhulibelay) from the collection Prantik by Rabindranath Tagore. The original poem in Bengali script may be viewed at

http://www.rabindra-rachanabali.nltr.org/node/13052



23-Aug-2009

More By  :  Kumud Biswas

Views: 1538     Comments: 0


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