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I am like a remnant of a cloud of autumn uselessly roaming in the sky (Song 80) by Rabindranath Tagore

 

I am like a remnant of a cloud of autumn uselessly roaming in the sky (Song 80) by Rabindranath Tagore 

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.

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.

 

In this poem, Tagore’s main wish is to ask God for a pure, joyful bond between himself and the divine. Tagore imagines himself as a cloud, which reflects his love for nature and his romantic style of writing. The cloud symbolizes the soul’s freedom, yet the poet, like the cloud, hasn’t yet felt God’s light. He wishes to be filled with God’s brightness, like the sun that always shines. However, he understands that his earthly life stops him from fully merging with the heavenly spirit. He asks God to melt away his earthly self with divine warmth, turning him into vapor so he can be closer to God.

Tagore feels the pain of being separated from God and says that if God doesn’t wish to meet him fully, He could at least play with him like a carefree cloud. Tagore asks God to cover him with His golden light and let him share in divine joy, even if it’s as small as a playful gesture. This would make him happy, showing that God cares for him.

In the end, Tagore hopes his soul will dissolve into God’s essence, whether in the dark night or the clear light of morning, so he can become one with the divine. His dream is simple: to unite with the eternal soul. Using new images, he portrays the sun as God’s powerful light and the cloud as the temporary life of a person.

“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.”

The poet, humbly, speaks of his deep desire to be close to God. He feels that sometimes God’s presence reaches him, but often he feels far away. Tagore sees God as the bright sun and himself as mist blocking its light.

He believes God created the world and people for His joy. He tells God He can either make his emptiness shine like gold or let it fade, as God wishes. To Tagore, life is God’s joyful play, like a child’s game with toys, and he finds beauty in this. The poet asks God to end his earthly life so his soul can unite with divine beauty and become a joyful part of creation, as he feels incomplete in his current state.

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Location: India

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