Starlight

(521)  Dure kena acho prabhu

Lord, why do You keep afar?
Come closer, please come closer.
Why bind me with melody's trance?
Rather, wrap me in a lilting dance.

Attune me to the play of lightning,
To a pageant of colors on eastern sky.
A charming song, a happy memory,
Is everything but occasionally.

Spreading a fragrance of flowers
Is the gentle, southern breeze.
A bundle of moonlight, the star-beam
Is dressed in dreams of love.

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording

Who goes there?

(520)  Ke go palash vane

Who goes there inside the palash grove?
Catching a glimpse, it seems as if I recognize Thee.
You've arrived within a niche of my mind;
My mind You have tinted, so why keep Your distance?

Today, in the flower garden, there's a southern wind;
Satisfied are all of my desires.
A tide of delight now gains ground,
Dancing, dancing, all around Thee.

Filled with Your beauty is the universe;
You enlighten every mind.
In every thought, ambrosia You exude;
Musing on Thee, I drift in bliss, tearfully.

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording
Another audio recording

Cup of life

(519)  Ke go asiyacho, madhu dhaliyacho

Who has arrived?
You've poured honey
On every molecule of our lives.

You've brought sweetness
And made us forget the anguish,
With Your kind and loving smile.

You've made us oblivious to who's a friend or foe;
You've made one both parts unknown and home.
You have strewn heartfelt affection
In every corner of the universe.

Unfair are exploitation and prejudice;
In this world they'll not persist.
You have filled life's vessel
With a flow of nectar to the very brim.

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording

Innerspeed

(518)  Ami diip jvele jai caliya

Lamp lit, I keep on moving
At the foot of Your altar.
I've strung a garland of kadam flowers;
Soon I will have You wear it.

The time for idleness has gone;
In my heart of hearts has come momentum.
A dam has burst in the sea of life;
Lord, You arrive, having drawn nigh.

In my mental mirror I have seen
That I've been loving You only.
Except for You I've renounced everything;
Into my guru cakra^[1] come, my Sweet.

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording

Tokens

(517)  Ami tomay kabhu bhulibo na

I will never forget You.
Your charming, love-filled look,
I'll never be able to put out of mind.

At end of night on a dappled morn,
When flow of light goes wild with color and form,
Your manifestation is immaculate,
I won't remain with my eyes shut.

At end of day as spring draws nigh,
When hoofprints of cows fade in twilight,
Daubed with sweetness is Your tranquility,
I won't destroy it cruelly.

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording

Leap of faith

(516)  Je tomare cay toma pane cay

Those who long for You, who look to You,
Them why don't You see?
At darkest night and in bright morning,
Why do You keep mute?

On sky and sea, in light, in gloom,
A band of flowers, they have moved;
But many hundred-petaled loti^[1] droop.
For the good of all, to be impartial,
Why not let Yourself be held?

With many colors, approaching silently,
Hopeful blossoms gaze toward Thee;
Neglected is much yearning.
In a soundless heaven keeping mum,
What is that lute You strum?

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording

Halftruths

(515)  Tomar katha ogo prabhu

Lord, Your story,
As there's never a close,
Whenever I speak, thereon I see:
As much is spoke, that much is untold.

The nebulae of the distant sky,
In their every rift, there too You are writ.
As much as Your message celestial,
It does descend, still I don't comprehend.
With folded hands I stand gazing,
A stream of tears flowing quietly.

In the dungeons of hell
Mid honey-coated resin scents,
Or with harpstrings resounding
On moonlit nights intoxicating,
Even so, many tales and many pains,
For endless time, mute they remain.

Sarkarverse article
Audio recording