I Know I Don'T Poem by Subroto Chatterjee

All said and done, you’ve won,
Undone, well begun,
This game, this ploy, this fun:
This plight we hid from none

And if wishes are manners to speak;
The powers that you seek-
Indifferent to all, might and weak;
You’ve more to lose, and none to greet.

And the past has gone with the dead-
It is the present you dread;
Fostered ideas that have spread,
To which you have consummately wed.

And to know that help is always there-
In a transient paternal care;
Where one may doubt, but you may dare,
I’ve so much to bear.

And to know that He is here,
A blessed name, a fervent prayer,
With him you know fear,
Distance was meant to be near.

And to know the years to go-
Shall precede us evermore;
No future can be that slow:
No parting imminently so.

And to know a troubled mind-
A puzzled friend, another kind,
Peace and dark, bright and blind,
I’ve so much to grind.

And not to know is present bliss,
Trust and faith were never his,
It is no chance but a miss-
To know, to touch, to kiss.

And words are – but words, all spent,
Care you which way they went?
Word to word, silence sent,
Given back, you’ve so much to repent.

And to live, but to depart,
Away, away from the heart,
Too late.
So end and start.

Copyright © SC
8th September 1982
Mumbai