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Friend, Wake Up! Why Do You Go On Sleeping?

Kabir 1440 (Banaras) – 1518 (Maghar)

Friend, wake up! Why do you go on sleeping?
The night is over— do you want to lose the day
      the same way?
Other women who managed to get up early have
      already found an elephant or a jewel...
so much was lost already while you slept...
and that was so unnecessary!

The one who loves you understood, but you did not.
You forgot to make a place in your bed next to you.
Instead you spent your life playing.
In your twenties you did not grow
because you did not know who your Lord was.
Wake up! Wake up! There's no one in your bed—
He left you during the long night.

Kabir says: The only woman awake is the woman
      who has heard the flute!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
91

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBXXXX XXAXXXX XX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 650
Words 129
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 7, 7, 2
Full analysis for Friend, Wake Up! Why Do You Go On Sleeping? »

Kabir

Kabīr was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement. The name Kabir comes from Arabic al-Kabīr which means 'The Great' – the 37th name of God in Islam. Kabir's legacy is today carried forward by the Kabir Panth, a religious community that recognizes him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects. Its members, known as Kabir panthis, are estimated to be around 9,600,000. They are spread over north and central India, as well as dispersed with the Indian diaspora across the world, up from 843,171 in the 1901 census. His writings include Bijak, Sakhi Granth, Kabir Granthawali and Anurag Sagar. more…

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    Lewis Carroll wrote: "You are old father William, the young man said..."
    A "and your eyes have become less bright"
    B "and you're going to die tonight"
    C "and you seem to have lost your sight"
    D "and your hair has become very white"