Got my leave, bid me farewell

ITS HAPPENING.The wheels of time(kala) churn away and we mortal beings wonder how it came to this stage.I hang up my uniform in 2 days time. 23 years. Really i dont believe it. Ihave not changed, i am still confused, unsure and uncertain. I have a feeling of being a vagrant.Never have i been anyplace i can sincerely call my own. Always passing though, waiting for the next flight as ordered.
   Who am i? The reflection in the mirror or the shadow i cast.Am i the person who wears the uniform and looks stern or the man in rags supplicating to all.Am i the words or the music? These seem stupid thoughts but, they rustle up in my mind. 45 years and the rustle is louder. My farewell speech was a poem from GITANJALI by Rabindranath Tagore. It was so appropriate, as if written for my goodbye.

Farewell

I have got my leave. Bid me farewell, my brothers!
I bow to you all and take my departure.

Here I give back the keys of my door
---and I give up all claims to my house.
I only ask for last kind words from you.

We were neighbors for long,
but I received more than I could give.
Now the day has dawned
and the lamp that lit my dark corner is out.
A summons has come and I am ready for my journey.

Rabindranath Tagore