Harindranath Chattopadhyaya - In days gone by

 

 

 In days gone by I used to be
A potter who would feel
His fingers mould the yielding clay
To patterns on his wheel;
But now, through wisdom lately won,
That pride has gone away,
I have ceased to be the potter
And have learned to be the clay.

In other days I used to be
A poet through whose pen
Innumerable songs would come
To win the hearts of men;
But now, through new-got knowledge
Which I had not had so long,
I have ceased to be the poet
And I have learned to be the song.

I was a fashioner of swords,
In days that are now gone,
Which on a hundred battle-fields
Glittered and gleamed and shone;
But now I am brimming with
The silence of the Lord,
I have ceased to be the sword-maker
And I have learned to be the sword.

In by-gone days I used to be
A dreamer who would hurl
On every side an insolence
Of emerald and pearl,
But now I am kneeling
At the feet of the Supreme
I have ceased to be the dreamer
And I have learned to be the dream.