I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times…
In life after life, in age after age, forever.
My spellbound heart has made and remade the necklace of songs,
That you take as a gift, wear round your neck in your many forms,
In life after life, in age after age, forever.
Whenever I hear old chronicles of love, it’s age-old pain,
It’s ancient tale of being apart or together.
As I stare on and on into the past, in the end you emerge,
Clad in the light of a pole-star piercing the darkness of time:
You become an image of what is remembered forever.
You and I have floated here on the stream that brings from the fount.
At the heart of time, love of one for another.
We have played along side millions of lovers, shared in the same
Shy sweetness of meeting, the same distressful tears of farewell-
Old love but in shapes that renew and renew forever.
Today it is heaped at your feet, it has found its end in you
The love of all man’s days both past and forever:
Universal joy, universal sorrow, universal life.
The memories of all loves merging with this one love of ours –
And the songs of every poet past and forever.
"Unending Love" by Rabindranath Tagore is a profound and spiritually resonant poem that explores the timeless nature of love, its connection to the divine, and its ability to transcend temporal boundaries. Written by the Nobel laureate Bengali poet, the poem expresses a profound sense of spiritual longing and the idea that love can endure beyond the limitations of human existence.
The poem begins with the speaker describing a profound and unending love that exists before the creation of the universe. The opening lines evoke a sense of timelessness and metaphysical significance. The speaker's declaration that "I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times" suggests a belief in the cyclical nature of existence and the idea that love persists through various lifetimes.
As the poem unfolds, Tagore uses vivid and evocative imagery to convey the expansive and enduring nature of love. The imagery of "olden days" and "ancient tales" further emphasizes the idea that this love transcends time and generations. The speaker's yearning to be "buried" in the "depths of the forest" with their beloved signifies a desire for a love that is intimately connected to nature and the universe.
The central theme of the poem is encapsulated in the line "I love you that you become the food for my soul's hunger." This phrase conveys the idea that the beloved not only satisfies the speaker's emotional and physical needs but also nourishes the soul on a profound level, suggesting a spiritual union.
The poem's language is rich and lyrical, invoking a sense of awe and reverence for the divine nature of love. Tagore's exploration of love as a cosmic force that transcends individual lives aligns with themes found in his broader body of work, which often focuses on the relationship between humanity and the divine.
"Unending Love" is a meditation on the eternal and transformative nature of love, embracing the concepts of reincarnation, spiritual connection, and the enduring power of human relationships. Tagore's portrayal of love as a force that transcends time and space encourages readers to contemplate the profound nature of love's impact on the human experience.
