Let My Country Awake

In 1912, the great Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore published his own English translation of Gitanjali, a collection of his poems exploring the themes of spirituality and love. This poem is number 35 of that collection. One can' t help
but read this poem, with its aching yearning for freedom, in the context of India's colonial occupation and Tagore's desire for India's independence (which he would not live to see). And one can't help but notice the contemporary resonance and relevance of Tagore's words as we also strive for a world that has not been broken up into fragments, that follows the clear stream of reason, and that proceeds without fear, head held high.