To President Obama
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let our minds awake.
-Rabindranath Tagore
I second this. It is my favorite poem. It was on my dorm wall when I was in boarding school. I saw it everyday and I still marvel at the beautiful words and sentiments.
I hope the world will move towards this heaven.
Hi Sunil,
It’s nice to see that Obama has made poetry cool again!
Sramana
Brilliant selection Ms. Mitra. This is my favorite poem too.
Hey…that’s my all time favorite poem..Thanks, Sramana, am putting it on my blog via yours