Asha or Hope is a poem from Tagore’s collection, Kalpana (Imagination, 1900).
HOPE
When the sun set on my life,
You welcomed me, O mother of mine.
Opening the doors of your inner sanctum,
You planted a kiss on my temples,
Lit a timeless lamp at my bedside. My neck
Was with a string of thorny blooms decked
To honour my songs. It hurt, it burnt —
Till taking off the wreath, you plucked
Each thorn off with your own hands,
Washed the dust. That garland —
With blooms now clean and white —
You draped on me as your eternal child.
My eyes opened as tears streamed.
I woke up to find it was only a dream!
This poem has been translated from Bengali by Mitali Chakravarty with editorial input from Sohana Manzoor.
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