Aug 22, 2015

You stir me awake from my dream

স্বপন যদি ভাঙিলে রজনীপ্রভাতে
swapan jodi bhangile

You stir me awake from my dream
As the night gives way to dawn
Suffuse my heart then in radiance

Keep me engaged in your work
Renew this life of mine

Open the doors of my room
And summon me to your abode

Aug 21, 2015

Do come today O Lord

স্বামী, তুমি এসো আজ অন্ধকার হৃদয়মাঝে
swami tumi esho aaj

Do come today O Lord into my heart steeped in darkness
I feel ashamed, tarnished with guilt, I call out to you
My heart cries out, my mind knows no peace
I cannot see the road engulfed in my own darkness

Fie upon my life, futile is my effort
Futile is the transient love that fades time and again
My heart is scorched in pain
My eyes overflow with tears
My thirst for earthly enjoyment
Consumes me like a vile poison 

The dust of this marketplace overwhelms me

হাটের ধুলা সয় না যে আর, কাতর করে প্রাণ
haater dhula shoy na je aar

The dust of this marketplace overwhelms me
I cannot bear it, my heart feels stifled
Let the river of your melody wash over me
Let it’s drumbeat pulse through my veins
Let it wash away from my body all dishonour
Let it’s gurgling flow drown all commotion

O Beautiful One
I had wreathed a garland of your flowers
Remind me of that today, let me forget all pain
Invite me to the lotus garden of your song
Let me partake of it’s honeyed sweetness
Let my face be smeared with it’s pollen

Aug 20, 2015

Who will give me solace

হায় কে দিবে আর সান্ত্বনা
haay ke dibe aar shantona

Who will give me solace
All have gone
I beg you not to leave
Do gaze with a smile O Lord
Upon the weak and subservient

I look all around
I do not see a soul
Why did you leave me alone in the dark
Look at this empty world of mine

You made me surrender

হার মানালে গো, ভাঙিলে অভিমান
haar manale go bhangile obhiman

You made me surrender
You crushed my sentimental pride
The flickering lamps I feebly lit
Have been shattered into pieces

Light up now your luminous stars
End this twilight of many hued shadows

Come my friend of the beyond
The winds waft in from the road
The lights in my home flicker out

To this desolate wharf edging a deep darkness
This act on the stage where all is lost
I have brought this song of mine

I offer to you a garland woven in surrender

হার-মানা হার পরাব তোমার গলে
haar mana haar

I offer to you a garland woven in surrender
I can no longer keep myself away in self-delusion

I know my sentimental pride will be swept away
My heart will shatter in acute pain
Emptied, it will sing out like a flute
My tears will erode even stone

The lotus petals will unfurl one by one
The honeyed sweetness will not be withheld

Whose gaze will beckon to me from the skies
Call me away from home in silence
Nothing will remain, nothing at all
I will attain ultimate oblivion at your feet

Why has the smile left your eyes

হাসি কেন নাই ও নয়নে
Hashi keno naai o noyone

Why has the smile left your eyes
You roam about with a forlorn face
Look up, my friend, look at the flowers blooming in the garden
The blossoms weep seeing you so forlorn
The wild vines beseech you to talk to them

Come, my friend, come here and tell
For whom does your heart ache
Whose dreams steep your heart so

Aug 19, 2015

My heart quivers my friend

হিয়া কাঁপিছে সুখে কি দুখে সখী
Hiya kanpichhe shukhe ki dukhe

My heart quivers my friend
Is it in pleasure or in pain
Why do my eyes well up in tears

My beloved will come to me today
What should I do my friend

When I meet him, my friend
I know not what to say

Will he not know, my friend
What my heart wishes to say
Will he not fathom it
Will he turn away

Aug 18, 2015

Sighting you secretly within their heart

হিয়ামাঝে গোপনে হেরিয়ে তোমারে
Hiyamajhe gopone heriye tomare

Sighting you secretly within their heart
Tender green leaves quiver in thrill
Chafing the flowers now and then

My heart has cast off it’s veil in joy

হৃদয়-আবরণ খুলে গেল
hridoy-aboron khule gelo

My heart has cast off it’s veil in joy
At the touch of your feet, O benevolent One
I see you within and outside
In each world, in every direction
In light and darkness, in joy and woe
I see you in my home, my heart
All across the whole wide world

Aug 17, 2015

My heart is too delicate

হৃদয় মোর কোমল অতি
hridoy mor komal oti

My heart is too delicate
It cannot bear the sunshine
When touched by light
It curls up in fearful shyness
When a bee alights beside me
My eyes drop shut in dread
I wish to wither and fall
Down into the earth
In distressed shame
When nudged by the breeze
My petals quiver and fall
So I hide my frame in a veil of leaves
I will pour my fragrance
Into the dark deep woods
I will wither and die
In the lap of these woods

Let my heart know your grace

হৃদয়ে তোমার দয়া যেন পাই
hridoye tomar daya jeno paai

Let my heart know your grace
I will accept my lot in this world
Let me find you in my heart

Your grace will suffuse my thoughts
Night and day in life and death
In joy and woe, in prosperity and calamity
Let me seek your grace
Let me know your grace

Your grace like a stream of tranquility
Will cascade softly into my heart
Your grace like a glow of well-being
Will light up the darkness of my life
My love and devotion
All my strength and solace
Let me gain in the form of your grace
There is nothing that is mine

Aug 16, 2015

O my heart’s treasure

হে অন্তরের ধন
Hey ontorer dhon

O my heart’s treasure
You pine in separation
Empty is your abode

I leave you alone in my home
I wander out and about all day long

O my heart’s treasure
The whole world weeps
Bemoaning this separation

Your flute in many a tune
Searches for me afar and near
Impassioned is spring’s southern breeze

I got your message, my friend

হে সখা বারতা পেয়েছি মনে মনে
hey shokha barota peyechhi

I got your message, my friend
In the caress of your breath
Within my heart
You’ve come, my unseen friend
With the southern breeze

Why do you deceive me
Why do you bind me
In a bondage invisible
Do let me see you
To my heart’s content
In the bowers of my heart

Do let me see you
In flowers crimson, white and gold
Why do you go far away
Putting a spell on me with your flute
In this celebration of youth
Do let yourself be seen
For my eyes to behold

My friend, abide in my heart

হে সখা, মম হৃদয়ে রহো
hey shokha mor hridoye raho

My friend, abide in my heart
In this world, in all my work
In my thoughts, in my knowing
Abide in my heart

Come O Lord, gently, slowly
In my joys, woes, smiles, tears
Gather up my life in your embrace
In this world, in all my work
In my thoughts, in my knowing
Abide in my heart

The whole day comes to naught

হেলাফেলা সারা বেলা
helaphela shara bela

The whole day comes to naught
What is this game I play with myself
Whose face do I recall
In the flower scented breeze
Who knows whose smile
Flutters across my sight
Leaving behind a teardrop
In the corner of my eyes

Who is it in stoic indifference
Plays a languorous tune
Beneath which yonder shade
Wails as if an aching heart
In the song of the flute
All day long I string my song
For whom sings my heart
Like a shadow I sit
Beneath a tree in the garden