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As once the winged energy of delight

Rainer Maria Rilke, Rainer Maria Rilke poetry, Secular or Eclectic, Secular or Eclectic poetry,  poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry,  poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke
(1875 - 1926) Timeline

English version by
Stephen Mitchell

Original Language
German

Secular or Eclectic
20th Century

As once the winged energy of delight
carried you over childhood's dark abysses,
now beyond your own life build the great
arch of unimagined bridges.

Wonders happen if we can succeed
in passing through the harshest danger;
but only in a bright and purely granted
achievement can we realize the wonder.

To work with Things in the indescribable
relationship is not too hard for us;
the pattern grows more intricate and subtle,
and being swept along is not enough.

Take your practiced powers and stretch them out
until they span the chasm between two
contradictions... For the god
wants to know himself in you.

 

 

-- from Ahead of All Parting: The Selected Poetry and Prose of Rainer Maria Rilke, Translated by Stephen Mitchell

Amazon.com

 


/ Photo by u07ch /

Themes

  Bliss
 
 
 
 


Recommended Books


Ahead of All Parting: The Selected Poetry and Prose of Rainer Maria Rilke, Translated by Stephen Mitchell
The Best of Rilke: 72 Form-True Verse Translations, Translated by Walter W. Arndt
The Book of Hours: Prayers to a Lowly God, by Rainer Maria Rilke / Translated by Annemarie Kidder
Duino Elegies, by Rainer Maria Rilke / Translated by David Young
Engendering Inspiration: Visionary Strategies in Rilke, Lawrence, and H.D., by Helen Sword

More >>

 

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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2010 by Ivan M. Granger.
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