i can only be as close to you
as i am to myself
because you are me
and i am you

you can only be as gentle to me
as you are to yourself
because i am you
and you are me

we can only love each other
as much as we love ourselves
because we are one

Last Curtain
by Rabindranath Tagore
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

I know the day comes when my eyes close,
when my sight fails,
when life takes its leave in silence
and the last curtain veils my vision.
Yet the stars will still watch by night;
the sun will still rise like before;
the hours will still heave like sea waves
casting up pleasures and pains.
When I consider this end of my earth-life,
the barrier of the moments breaks
and I see by the illumination of death
this world with its careless treasures.
Rare is its lowliest seat,
rare its meanest of lives.
Things I longed for in vain and those I received, let them pass.
Let me but truly possess the things I rejected and overlooked.

Keywords/Tags: Tagore, translation, Hindi, last, curtain, death, eyes, close, sight, vision, night, stars, sun, sea, waves, illumination, treasures, mrburdu

Break! break! break dear friend, break the fretting chain
Wake! wake! wake yourself, not the time for sleep
Clean! clean! clean your hands, wash the little stain
Keep! keep! keep the distance, no time for weep.
Close! close! close your doors, sway of death in reap
Lay low, dim and low, let the season pass
Pain of ashes from unmade graves of mass
Frozen fear gripping through the silent hearts.

Let us hail those souls through our singing brass
Who kept fighting to save the human hearts.

I have this melody in my head.
It is real, you can actually listen.
It sometimes makes me wish I was dead
And then others, it feels like I've actually risen.

To the stars and pulled back I was thinking
How much
I would like to see you.
Over there, on the side of the road.
I'd pretend you were looking at me when it actually was
true.

And I'd wait for this dream to be gone but it wouldn't.
And I know that I actually shouldn't,
But I'd go to you in that moment of fearlessness just to see you closer a little bit.

What is the true colour of your hair when you stand in the sun?
What is the shade of your skin under all that tan?
What's the colour of your eyes when you're looking at me?
Do your lips taste like a mint cup of tea?

Do I have to wake up from this dream?

closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer
closer closer closer closer

I blink, like everyone else I blink
Fast enough to skip the darkness
And the nightmares that dwell in it
Ever waiting to strike

I have nothing but praise for my eye lids
For their strength, I have been working them overtime
I cannot stand the black, empty library my mind has become
Make no mistake, I'm at fault, to an extent

For I stood idly by as each page was forcefully ripped from it's peers bound by hard cover
Each section, descreted
All in the name of improvement

My own mind has become a black hole
I fight my way out of with every sleep
Nap or rest, Losing a piece of me everytime
When will it end?
When will my lids finally know rest?

The feeling of ecstasy that comes with
Closing your eyes feels faded to me
Everything seems far away these days
It's got me feeling really short sighted
Yet somehow it feels I'm dreaming