O honeybee,
come close to me.

Look,
today, my honey is getting consumed.

You are the moon in the sky.
I am but an earthen lamp.

My light loses itself
in the blue sky.

My collection of honey,
accumulated moment after moment,
O friend, is for You only.

My deprived heart,
constantly restless,
wants only You.

You did not come
nor did You allow me to come near You.

Thinking of You,
my mind rushes off unto infinity.

In the great cosmos,
the lamp of my hope is very meagre.
Yet, it is not insignificant.
Know it to be my love.

You did not come to love me.
You did not make me understand
that nothing ever ends either.

...................................................................

O Madhupa!
Please come closer to me.

You see, my honey is slowly disappearing.
You are the moon of the sky,
whereas I am but a lamp.
In the blueness of the great sky
my light fades away.

My accumulated honey is for You only,
O companion!
It is a recollection of every moment.
My deprived heart longs only for You.
It anxiously awaits You each and every moment.

You did not come to sustain me.
Yet, thinking of stories of You,
my mind rushes towards limitlessness.

In this great sky
the flame of my hope is very insignificant.
Yet, You know my love is not negligible.

You did not come to love me,
You did not come to let me know
that nothing ever disappears.