keep me fully glad

Poems Under the Christmas Tree!

Well, we actually didn't have a tree this year... but I did get some lovely presents which were beautifully wrapped.  Among the highlights are a set of poems that my wonderful wife gathered together for me.  She knows that I love to peruse poetry for possible song texts, and she has a great ability to find texts that resonate deeply with me.  She has given me this type of gift before, and several recent pieces have been the result of her poetry finds. Given my recent work with a Tagore text (see here) she included several fantastic Tagore poems that I had not discovered previously.  Her gift of about 15 poems included this one on top (beautiful!):

KEEP ME FULLY GLAD by Rabindranath Tagore

Keep me fully glad with nothing. Only take my hand in your hand. In the gloom of the deepening night take up my heart and play with it as you list. Bind me close to you with nothing.

I will spread myself out at your feet and lie still. Under this clouded sky I will meet silence with silence. I will become one with the night clasping the earth in my breast. Make my life glad with nothing.

The rains sweep the sky from end to end. Jasmines in the wet untamable wind revel in their own perfume. The cloud-hidden stars thrill in secret. Let me fill to the full my heart with nothing but my own depth of joy.