He makes beauty bright

(1705)  Tumi esechile rupe ucchale

You had come with lively beauty
Deep inside of mind's alcove,
At the ornate pleasure grove.
Without glory and unworthy,
I had been ashamed.

A body drenched with glowing tears was I,
The rain's reply, a rainbow upon sky.
As offering I did give all things mine
In a song of longing and despair.

Without You no one else is there;
In exchange for all, I desire only Thee.
I continue, thinking of just Your words only,
Vigilant both night and day.

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Though it hurts

(1704)  Ei ashoka tarura tale

Neath the same ashoka tree,
At evenings of Chaitra, without work or busy,
On some pretext I was sitting.

At springtime, with its sweet and gentle breeze,
Hoping for nectar poured were the black bees coming.
Distressed leaves, wet with tears of grief,
Seared by pangs of separation, they were crying.

That ashoka tree has gotten withered;
Now its leaves and flowers have vanished.
This path the black bees have abandoned;
With tears of memory cries the tree lacking nectar.

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Hope springs eternal

(1703)  Tomar katha bheve bheve, din je cale jay (1703)

About You ever thinking,
Days, they go by.
In thought's stream absorbed am I;
No bank on it is there.

Like a bubble on the ocean
Is my worth to the vast sky.
And yet I am its most beloved;
Such a hope does shine.

Will end to thought ever arrive,
Myself received as Thine?
Yes, You will make love bright
At heart's paradise.

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Nothing of this world lasts forever

(1702)  Niilakashe balaka bhase

Upon the blue sky rides a flight of geese;
It proceeds, do tell please, unto which country.
In company with blue yonder, what is that crossing?
Ideation, it moves on, ultimately.

All the stars, amazed and lacking speech,
They remain staring at that crossing only.
Moonrays by the heaps, having plied through nothing,
They provide encouragement, smiling and smiling.

Earth's human beings, upward facing,
Grant adieu with songs aplenty.
Drawn to the color of Dawn's Mountain in the east,^[1]
For mingling with the heavens they also want to leave.

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Time, place, and person

(1701)  Andhar sagar pare se eseche

He has arrived, crossing over the dark sea,
Just like a font of light at the core of psyche.
Having cleft the bulwark of resistance, He has beamed;
My heap of good fortune, to the brim He has increased.

There is no right to get Him; of that I never think.
Yet, with the essence of ambrosia He has come near.

There is no pain of non-attainment... at no time, losing.
From a place higher than time, His love is exuding.

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Hankering for the unknown

(339)  Udasii hiyate kajala rate

With stoic mind on pitch-dark nights,
Why does it happen to be…
Oft and again, when time stands still,
My soul longs for the unrevealed.

Where are You; where do You stay hidden?
I am searching through the seven worlds.^[1]
Deeply afflicted, tears flowing,
My heart yearns to find Thee.

The ocean of light, the mire of gloom—
Thoroughly I seek in every direction.
You've remained, that I assume;
But I can't hold You in apperception.

Nearest and dearest of my life,
Why this game of hide-and-seek with me,
Coming and standing in front with a smile,
Beyond the sea of suffering?

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Ever Onward, Ever Upward

(326)  Tumi nityashuddha paramaradhya

You, the ever-pure and supremely reverend,
You've brought a tidal wave in the sea of light.
You've filled the world with hue and form,
You've animated with new life.

At Your touch the cosmos has awakened;
You rouse all-inclusive exuberance.
With Your cheer the universe has become jubilant;
Everyone delighted with effulgence.
You are one, but You have come in countless modes
Bestowing life in countless flows.

You have kept the blue sky alight
With myriad colors and abundant stars.
You've appeared before disconsolate lives
Arrayed as everybody's Polaris.
You are just one, but You come in a hundred incarnations,
To perform for all the muktisnán.[1]

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