Swopno (Dream), a poem by Rabindranath Tagore, can be found in his collection, Kalpana (Imagined, 1900).
DREAM
Far, far away,
In my dreamworld, I travelled to Ujjainipur.
I went to the banks of the Shipra River
To look for my last life’s first love.
Her anklets jingled as she walked
Powdered with pollen, holding a lotus,
Jasmines in her ears,
Jhanti flowers in her hair, dressed in red.
I had returned one spring,
Finding the path, traveling from afar.
In the temple of Mahakal,
Evening prayers were being chanted.
The market was deserted. A streak of light
Irradiated the darkness above the palace.
A serpentine, narrow, lonely path
Led to my beloved’s home.
On her doors, framed by two saplings,
Were painted a conch and a chakra.
On a white marble arch,
Sat a statue of an arrogant lion.
My beloved’s pigeons returned home.
Her peacocks slept on golden rods.
Meanwhile, holding a lamp,
Descended my Malavika.
Between the staircase and doorway,
The evening star peeped in.
The fragrance of her body and hair
Filled my breath with agitated yearning.
Her garments rustled to reveal a motif
With sandalwood paste on her left breast.
Like a deity she graced the gloaming.
The city’s rumour mills stopped silent.
My beloved
Placed the lamp slowly by the door.
She came to me, held my hand in hers,
Silently, asked with melancholic tenderness,
“Oh friend! Are you well?” Gazing at her,
I wanted to talk but lost my words.
I forgot my eloquence as together,
We dwelled on each other — I cannot recall—
We both longed for togetherness
As our speechless tears flowed endlessly.
Together, we pondered by the saplings.
I do not know what came to pass
but her soft hands hid themselves
in my right one like a young bird
seeking its nest in the dusk.
Her face bowed like a lotus stem
on my chest with sad restlessness.
Pensively, we met with silent breath.
In the darkness of the night
I lost myself in Ujjaini completely.
The lamp by the door
Was blown off by a distant breeze.
By the banks of the Shipra River,
The worship stopped in Shiva’s temple.
This poem has been translated from Bengali by Mitali Chakravarty with editorial input by Sohana Manzoor.
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