Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Search the Poetry Chaikhana site:


Poetry Chaikhana Home
New | Books | Music | Teahouse | About | Contact
Poets by: Name| Tradition | Timeline Poetry by: Theme | Commentary
Blog | Forum | Video Channel
www.Poetry-Chaikhana.com

<<Previous Poem | View All Poems by Rainer Maria Rilke | Next Poem >>

We say release, and radiance, and roses

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

We say release, and radiance, and roses,
and echo upon everything that's known;
and yet, behind the world our names enclose is
the nameless: our true archetype and home.

The sun seems male, and earth is like a woman,
the field is humble, and the forest proud;
but over everything we say, inhuman,
moves the forever-undetermined god.

We grow up; but the world remains a child.
Star and flower, in silence, watch us go.
And sometimes we appear to be the final
exam they must succeed on. And they do.

 

 

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

Amazon.com

 

Themes

  Garden
  Light
  Lotus
  Rose
  Silence


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 >>

 

<<Previous Poem | More Poems by Rainer Maria Rilke | Next Poem >>

 

 


Poetry Chaikhana Home
New | Books | Music | Teahouse | About | Contact
Poets by: Name| Tradition | Timeline Poetry by: Theme | Commentary
Blog | Facebook | Twitter
www.Poetry-Chaikhana.com

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.