Sail to Sing

I heard the whispering early in the day
that we should sail in a boat, just you and me
alone, and no soul in the world would know
of this pilgrimage to no country with no end.

As we sail in that shoreless ocean
with your silent listening smile, my songs
would swell in melodies free as waves,
free from all bondage to thoughts and words.

But has not the time for this come yet
though the evening with the fading light
has come down to the shore with seabirds
returning, flying back to their nests!

When will the chains be unchained
for the sail to feel the wind
and the boat, like the last glimmer
of sunset, vanish into the night?

Adopted from Tagore’s Gitanjali, poem 42

Henry Victor          10.10.2012