I am mad with love
And no one understands my plight.
Only the wounded
Understand the agonies of the wounded,
...
Do not leave me alone, a helpless woman.
My strength, my crown,
I am empty of virtues,
You, the ocean of them.
...
Nothing is really mine except Krishna.
O my parents, I have searched the world
And found nothing worthy of love.
Hence I am a stranger amidst my kinfolk
...
I have found a guru in Raidas, he has
given me the pill of knowledge.
...
The plums tasted
sweet to the unlettered desert-tribe girl-
but what manners! To chew into each! She was ungainly,
low-caste, ill mannered and dirty,
...
I send letters to my Beloved,
The dear Krishna.
But He sends no message of reply,
Purposely preserving silence.
...
Dark Friend, what can I say?
This love I bring
from distant lifetimes is ancient,
do not revile it.
...
Sleep has not visited me the whole night,
Will the dawn ever come?
O my companion,
Once I awoke with a start from a dream.
...
Listen, my friend, this road is the heart opening,
kissing his feet, resistance broken, tears all night.
If we could reach the Lord through immersion in water,
...
I am pale with longing for my beloved;
People believe I am ill.
Seizing on every possible pretext,
I try to meet him 'by accident.'
...