Religion

Song XXXIX: O friend! this body is His lyre; He tightens its strings

by Kabir c. 1440–1518

Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, with Evelyn Underhill (1915) · From Songs of Kabir (1915)

Religion

O friend! this body is His lyre; He tightens its strings, and draws from it the melody of Brahma.
If the strings snap and the keys slacken, then to dust must this instrument of dust return:
Kabîr says: "None but Brahma can evoke its melodies."

MLA

Kabir. “Song XXXIX: O friend! this body is His lyre; He tightens its strings.” Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, with Evelyn Underhill. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/kabir/38/.

Chicago

Kabir. “Song XXXIX: O friend! this body is His lyre; He tightens its strings.” Translated by Rabindranath Tagore, with Evelyn Underhill. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/kabir/38/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

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