You brought me to tears

কাঁদালে তুমি মোরে ভালোবাসারই ঘায়ে
kandale tumi more bhalobashari ghaye
(audio)

You brought me to tears
The torment of your love
A deep sweet agony
Tingles down my body

I will walk to distant shores
For a tryst with you, my love
Let pain prick at my feet
As I walk the endless roads

My heart wails like a flute
My eyes stream with tears
This sweet melancholy
Leaves me bewildered

You plunder my all
And yet keep me bound
I cannot tear my heart away
Such is my quandary

O my ever unknown stranger

ওগো আমার চির-অচেনা পরদেশী
ogo amar chiro awchena pawrodeshi

O my ever unknown stranger
To which summons did you come
Out for a moment from your solitary arbour

I didn’t fathom what you said
But it’s strain lingers on
Like the melody of a flute

I sat alone in the morn
And wreathed a garland
It lay on the ground
Beneath the Ashok trees
When I came back at the end of day
I could not find it anymore
Even you had by then gone away
The hours went by
I could not sight you again

Do stay a little longer

আরো একটু বসো তুমি
aaro ektu bosho tumi

Do stay a little longer
Do tell a little more

O traveller
Why this restlessness
A moistness in your eyes

Did you get a hint of what you wished to hear from me
The silent swell of words billowing in my heart

When you are far away
The secrets deep within
Resonate in sweet melody
When you come close
Your eyes hush all words
They shine like the stars
In the still night of my heart

A few more minutes, do sit by me

আরো কিছুখন নাহয় বসিয়ো পাশে
aaro kichhukhon nahoy boshiyo paashey

A few more minutes, do sit by me
A few more words, do speak to me

See how the autumn sky darkens
Vaporous airs mist the horizon

You came to my door in the morn
Wanting to see something
Let me ask while there is still light
Were you able to catch a glimpse of that
O traveller, say do say –
That which rolls to and fro
In the fathomless depths of my heart

You wavered at the door
Held yourself back today
You tinkered with your tunes
Out in the courtyard
I know not what you can take
Take back with you to the distant lands
O traveller, at this hour of parting ways

When you came at the break of dawn
Leaving behind all your chores
The soulful voice you came to hear
Did you catch a hint of it
O traveller, say do say –
Those words they are ablaze
In the secret depths of my heart

My heart is athirst

চিত্ত পিপাসিত রে গীতাসুধার তরে
chitto pipashito re
(audio)

My heart is athirst
For the sweetness of a song

Like a withered vine
That thirsts for a drop of rain
My heart sprawls in the dust
Aggrieved and athirst
For the sweetness of a song

Today on a spring night
Today with an eternal thirst
Today my wakeful heart
Is like a bird that gazes at the moon
Yearning to soak in the light
Athirst for the sweetness of a song

The wakeful moon
In a sky bereft of sleep
Watches the quiescent world
My body and soul cry out
In a listless tone
Athirst for the sweetness of a song

One to whom you give your flag

তোমার পতাকা যারে দাও
tomar potaka jaare dao

One to whom you give your flag
Give her the strength to bear it
To suffer great sorrows in your service
Give her the faith to bear it

I wish with all my heart
To end sorrow with sorrow
I do not wish to evade
The pain that you bestow
Woe will be a laurel for me
If you grant with it my faith

Give me work if you so wish
As long as you let me
Forget you not
Let me not get entangled
In a web of wanton waste

Ensnare me in as many bonds
Keep me free to be with you
Keep me in the dust if you so wish
Make me pure with the dust of your feet
Be that I get lost in worldly affairs
Let me not forget and lose you
I’ll take any road you choose for me
Allow me to reach your feet
Let all my effort take me
To the one who ends all fatigue

An uphill road is this world
Many a sacrifice, many a woe,
Many a pang of separation
Bearing many a death through this life
May I get a new life in death
Let me find at eventide
A refuge at your feet

If you rescue me O Lord

যদি আমায় তুমি বাঁচাও
jodi amay tumi banchao

If you rescue me O Lord
Then blessed will be your world
If you wash off with your purity
The grime and soot in my heart
Arouse will anew your sun and moon
In a grand festival of light
My blooms have yet to flower
That very sadness fills the world
If dispelled is the darkness of night
And awakened is my heart
Then radiant will be the sky
With the ring of joyous melody

Lash at me yet more

আরো আরো প্রভু, আরো আরো
Aaro aaro probhu aaro aaro

Yet more O Lord, yet more
Lash at me yet more
I hide and try to flee
Now that I am caught
How do I evade thee?

Take away, do take away
All that I have
Do what you want to do
Let your will takes its course
Be it that I lose or you

I mill about here and there
Hours lost in fun and banter
Let me see how you can make me weep

You come in the garb of woe

দুখের বেশে এসেছ ব'লে
Dukkher beshe eshechho bole

I will fear you not
Though you appear in the garb of woe
I will hold you close where it hurts

If you veil your face in darkness
I will know you still
If you come in the garb of death
I will die clasping your feet

Whatever be the form
In which you show yourself
I will fear you not

My eyes are awash in tears today
The tears let them overflow
My heart rings out with pain
In your fierce embrace

It is you who grips my heart
Let my pain tell me so
I will not wish for anything
I will not say anything
I will merely gaze at you

Be simple, be natural

সহজ হবি, সহজ হবি
Shohoj hobi

Be simple, be natural
O my heart, be simple
Keep your distance from
  that which adds distance
    to what was near
Why stretch out your palms
It is not the gift we need
It is the giver we seek
When you give with ease
You acquire too with ease
Be simple, be natural
O my heart, be simple
Emerge O poet from the task
Of composing your own words
Away from all words, beats the heart of the world
Where the morning sun gazes at the silent flower