Stray Birds

Stray Birds is a powerful collection of short poems by a master of Indian literature. "Stray birds of summer come to my window to sing and fly away. And yellow leaves of autumn, which have no songs, flutter and fall there with a sigh." The poems of Stray Birds are a masterclass in clarity and concision. Like birds themselves, they flutter across the sky of the page before passing beyond the limit of sight. In prayer, in celebration, and in evocations of the natural world, Tagore comes as close to the truth as possible, catching a glimpse before it can fly away forever: "Let me live truly, my Lord, so that death to me become true." In plainspoken language, Tagore gives voice to the soul.