Letter writing by Tagore, translated by Ranu

Mentmore Regent fountain pen (Photo credit: Athanasius)

Small format paper cutter (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sixty-One Writing Implements (Photo credit: unprose)

This is a simple poem written by Tagore. The title of this poem is,’Letter Writing’.

You gave me a gold fountain pen__

there are so many writing tools.

The small desk

is made of walnut wood.

A stamped letter pad

in different sizes.

silver enameled paper cutter

scissors,knife,sealing wax,red ribbon.

A glass paper-weight,

red blue green pencils.

you left saying you have to write letters

every other day.

I am sitting down to write,

I finished my shower this morning.

I cannot think of what to write.

There is only one news__

you have gone.

You know this news too.

Still I think,

You don’t know it well.

So I think, let me tell you this__

you have gone.

Every time I start writing

I am caught,this news is not easy

I am not a poet;

I am unable to use my voice in my writing,

there is no look from my eyes.

I write many times, but I tear it.

It is ten in the morning.

Your nephew  Boku will go to school,

I will go and feed him.

For the last time I will write this__

you have gone.

The rest of the letter is all meaningless marks on the blotting paper.

Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel prize for literature. It is the first Nobel prize won by Asia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)