From Me From Me - Lines from Beyond Time

For Me From Me By Rabindranath Tagore

From Me From Me

A Simple headstone if you must

An Arrow pointing to the dust

Saying, "There lies a man."

No name, please, for passers by

Let them wonder who I was.

Some liked me, others not

But what I was is what you got!!

In my life, I gave my all.

Many bent, but I stood tall.

Don't waste time on empty tears

I enjoyed all the years.

Maybe sometimes the path was rough.

I tripped and rose 'cos I was tough

Never bothered about the shove

In return, I offered love.

Love lies in the mind

And, like they say, love is blind.

It doesn't matter what you do,

As long as your heart is true.

Never bother what people think,

You're here, you're gone; in just a blink.

So stranger, as you pause awhile

Stop and give a little smile

What I am now is what you'll be!!

Lucky if you're a memory.

These lines touch me whenever I visit the old graveyard in Civil Lines, Gurgaon. They speak from beyond time, and they seem to be among the most powerful lines I have read! They speak loudly of life and death. The lines don't mince words, nor do they gloss over life.

These lines are inscribed on a gravestone in one of the oldest graves in Gurgaon. This is the reality of life, dust to dust, ashes to ashes we end up in. These lines are inscribed on a gravestone, and what touched me is that the inscriber did not want his name on it. Whenever I visit this rather ancient graveyard in the civil lines, I am transported into another world. We recently buried our mother, Mrs. Ivy Lal, a very strong and spiritual lady who passed away at the ripe age of 86 years. She started her prime life in Ethiopia and was the anchor of our family. But what touched me most were the words on another gravestone. While most of us slip into nothingness, a few of us are remembered, and, sure, in this short life we live, lucky are we if we are remembered! 

The lines on the gravestone state, "Don't waste time on empty tears." In any case, She/He lived and "enjoyed all the years". People will speak all things about you, but it doesn't matter as long as "your heart is true". So as a stranger, "Stop and give a little smile" for "what I am is what you'll be! Such powerful words state the reality of life and death. I don't really know who the author of these lines was, but all I know is that the lines spoke to me from beyond the grave, beyond time, an inspiration and an advice for all of us who live!

This post is a tribute to the person who dared to write these lines on his gravestone! Well, indeed, this poem was written by Rabindranath Tagore in his poem, "For Me From Me."