Virtual Bangladesh : Literature: Poetry : Rabindranath Tagore

[A Poem Image]

Destination Unknown - Rabindranath Tagore

How much farther will you lead me on, Lady beautiful?

Tell me where will finally land your golden boat?

Whenever I ask you, Lady of far-off land,

you only flash at me your dulcet smile.

I do not know what thoughts stir in your mind.

Silently you lift your finger

and point to the infinite sea which heaves.

In the far west the sun hides behind the sky.

What lies there? What is it we go to seek?

Tell me, I once again ask you Lady unknown:

On the evening sands burns the day's fineral pyre,

the waters shine like liquid fire,

the sky melts down in limpid flow,

the eyes of the horizon swim in tears.

Do you have your dwelling there

beyond the wave-studded sea?

At the foot of the cloud-kissed western hills?

You smile silently but say no word.

The wind moans day and night with longdrawn sighs.

The waters swell and roar in blind agony.

The dark blue waters are full of doubts.

There is no trace of shore on any side.

An endless weeping sweeps through the world.

On the sea of tears floats the golden boat.

The evening sun strikes it with golden shafts.

Why in its center you sit and smile silently?

I don not understand what stirs in your mind.

When first you asked who will come with you,

I looked into your eyes in the early dawn.

You pointed with lifted finger

to the infinite sky that stretches west,

the restless light that flickers on the waves like hope.

I boarded the boat and asked,

"Shall we find new life there beyond?

Does hope yield there its golden harvest?"

You looked at my face and smiled without a word.

Since then we sometimes saw the sun and sometimes clouds.

Sometimes the sea was rough and sometimes calm.

Time flows on and wind strikes the sails.

The golden boat moves blithely forward.

Now the sun descends in the western sky.

Once again I ask you, Lady of mystery,

Is cool death to be found there beyond?

Is there peace, is there sleep in the depths of the dark?

Again you lift your eyes and smile silently.

Soon the dark will spread her wings.

The golden light will be lost in the evening sky.

Your body's fragrance comes floating in the air,

in my ears there is murmur of moving waters,

your hair flies in the wind and touches my face.

With faint heart and tired frame,

once again I shall ask you impatiently,

"Where are you? Come and touch me once".

You will say no word and I shall not see your silent smile.

Translated by: Humayun Kabir