On the day when death will knock at thy door,
what wilt thou offer to him?
Oh, I will set before my guest the full vessel of my life;
I will never let him go with empty hands.
All the sweet vintage of all my autumn days and summer nights,
all the earnings and gleanings of my busy life,
will I place before him at the close of my days
when death will knock at my door.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) , from Gitanjali, published 1913
