by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by André Gide (1869 - 1951)

If thou speakest not
Language: English  after the Bangla (Bengali) 
Our translations:  GER
If thou speakest not
I will fill my heart with thy silence
and endure it.
I will keep still
and wait like the night
with starry vigil 
and its head bent low with patience.
The morning will surely come,
the darkness will vanish,
and thy voice pour down
in golden streams
breaking through the sky.
Then thy words will take wing
in songs from every one
of my birds' nests,
and thy melodies
will break forth
in flowers in all
my forest groves.

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • SWE Swedish (Svenska) (Andrea Butenschön) , first published 1915


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2004-01-17
Line count: 19
Word count: 83

Language: French (Français)  after the English 
Si tu ne parles pas,
certes j'endurerai ton silence ;
j'en emplirai mon cœur.
J'attendrai tranquille,
la tête bas penchée,
et pareil à la nuit
durant sa vigile étoilée.
Le matin sûrement va venir ;
la ténèbre céder,
et ta voix va s'épandre
en jaillissements d'or ruisselant
à travers le ciel.
Tes paroles alors s'essoreront
en chansons de chacun
de mes nids d'oiseaux
et tes mélodies
éclateront en fleurs
sur toutes les charmilles
de mes forêts.

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Researcher for this page: Geoffrey Wieting

This text was added to the website: 2004-01-17
Line count: 19
Word count: 74