Wednesday, September 8, 2010






I've had many requests for this poem. Rabindranath Tagore, The End was read at Samantha's service.

The first line kills you....if you can get past that it's quite beautiful.


The End by Rabindranath Tagore:

It is time for me to go, mother; I am going.

When in the paling darkness of the lonely dawn you stretch out your arms for your baby in the bed, I shall say, "Baby is not here!"-mother, I am going.

I shall become a delicate draught of air and caress you and I shall be ripples in the water when you bathe, and kiss you and kiss you again.

In the gusty night when the rain patters on the leaves you will hear my whisper in your bed, and my laughter will flash with the lightning through the open window into your room.

If you lie awake, thinking of your baby till late into the night, I shall sing to you from the stars, "Sleep, mother, sleep."

One the straying moonbeams I shall steal over your bed, and lie upon your bosom while you sleep.

I shall become a dream, and through the little opening of your eyelids I shall slip into the depths of your sleep; and when you wake up and look round startled, like a twinkling firefly I shall flit out into the darkness.

When, on the great festival of puja, the neighbours' children come and play about the house, I shall melt into the music of the flute and throb in your heart all day.

Dear auntie will come with puja-presents and will ask,"Where is our baby, sister?"

Mother, you will tell her softly, "He is in the pupils of my eyes, he is in my body and in my soul."

3 comments:

Elizabeth said...

That is simply stunning.

Deana said...

This is the one Steve noted at Samantha's memorial. It is so beautiful.

Anonymous said...

truly beautiful and so very appropriate; thanks for sharing it

-- Joan from PA

Trauma should be the hall pass to life's other issues. Someone should tell the hall monitor

I posted something cryptic on Facebook Saturday. It caught a lot of attention from my tribe but it really wasn’t a big deal…. nothing ...