Time is endless in thy hands, my lord. [German translation]

Time is endless in thy hands, my lord.

There is none to count thy minutes.

Days and nights pass

and ages bloom and fade like flowers.

Thou knowest how to wait.

Thy centuries follow each other

perfecting a small wild flower.

We have no time to lose,

and having no time

we must scramble for a chance.

We are too poor to be late.

And thus it is that time goes by

while I give it to every querulous man who claims it,

and thine altar is empty of all offerings to the last.

At the end of the day I hasten in fear

lest thy gate to be shut;

but I find that yet there is time.

• Artist:Rabindranath Tagore