O My Native Soil, My Motherland Poem by Sutapa Chaudhuri

O my native soil, I bow my head to you in deep obeisance.
In you rests the universe, on you is spread the love of the universal mother.
You have become blended in my body,
You have united with my heart and soul,
That verdant, tender form of yours is imprinted forever in my heart of hearts.
O Mother, my birth is on your lap, on your breast my death.
On you, all my play of sorrow and happiness.
You have put succour in my mouth,
You have comforted me with cool waters,
You have always been the all enduring, all suffering mother’s Mother.
O Mother, much have I eaten out of your hands, I have taken gifts galore—
Yet what have I given you in return I know not!
My life has gone by in futile pursuits,
I have spent my days hemmed in within my room—
For naught have you given me vigour, O Almighty.

*this is a free translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s song O Amar Desher Mati