I am like a Remnant of a Cloud of Autumn | I am like a remnant of a cloud of autumn

by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

Translation by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

I am like a remnant of a cloud of autumn

Language: English after the Bangla (Bengali)

Our translations: GER

I am like a remnant of a cloud of autumn
uselessly roaming in the sky,
O my sun ever-glorious!
Thy touch has not yet melted my vapour,
making me one with thy light,
and thus I count months and years separated from thee.

If this be thy wish and if this be thy play,
then take this fleeting emptiness of mine,
paint it with colours, gild it with gold,
float it on the wanton wind 
and spread it in varied wonders.

And again, when it shall be thy wish to end this play at night,
I shall melt and vanish away in the dark,
or it may be in a smile of the white morning, 
in a coolness of purity transparent.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in Gitanjali, no. 80, first published 1912 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Bangla (Bengali) by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941), no title, appears in গীতাঞ্জলি (Gitanjali), no. 80 [text unavailable]
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Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Albert Biales (1929 - 2012), "I am like a remnant of a cloud of Autumn", 1982, first performed 1982 [ soprano and orchestra or piano ], from When the Creation Was New, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by John Alden Carpenter (1876 - 1951), no title, alternate title: "I am like a Remnant of a Cloud of Autumn", published 1914 [ voice and piano ], from Gitanjali (Song Offerings), no. 4, New York, G. Schirmer [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in Dutch (Nederlands), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Frans Louis Wiemans.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this page: Geoffrey Wieting

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 121