by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
Translation by Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

Death, thy servant, is at my door
Language: English  after the Bangla (Bengali) 
Our translations:  GER
Death, thy servant, is at my door. 
He has crossed the unknown sea 
and brought thy call to my home.
The night is dark and my heart is fearful -- 
yet I will take up the lamp, 
open my gates and bow to him my welcome. 
It is thy messenger who stands at my door.
I will worship him with folded hands, and with tears.
I worship him placing at his feet the treasure of my heart.
He will go back with his errand done, 
leaving a dark shadow on my morning; 
and in my desolate home only my forlorn self 
will remain as my last offering to thee.

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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):

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

  • GER German (Deutsch) (Thomas F. Schubert) , copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [an adaptation]
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-07-04
Line count: 13
Word count: 108