{"id":6910,"date":"2021-02-05T09:21:44","date_gmt":"2021-02-05T16:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=6910"},"modified":"2021-02-05T09:21:44","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T16:21:44","slug":"rainer-maria-rilke-want-the-change-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/05\/rainer-maria-rilke-want-the-change-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Rainer Maria Rilke – Want the change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want the change
\nby Rainer Maria Rilke<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

English version by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy<\/font><\/p>\n

Want the change. Be inspired by the flame
\nwhere everything shines as it disappears.
\nThe artist, when sketching, loves nothing so much
\nas the curve of the body as it turns away.<\/p>\n

What locks itself in sameness has congealed.
\nIs it safer to be gray and numb?
\nWhat turns hard becomes rigid
\nand is easily shattered.<\/p>\n

Pour yourself out like a fountain.
\nFlow into the knowledge that what you are seeking
\nfinishes often at the start, and, with ending, begins.<\/p>\n

Every happiness is the child of a separation
\nit did not think it could survive. And Daphne, becoming
\na laurel,
\ndares you to become the wind.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> \u2014 from In Praise of Mortality: Rilke\u2019s Duino Elegies & Sonnets to Orpheus<\/a>, by Rainer Maria Rilke \/ Translated by Joanna Macy<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by Lulu Lovering<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

This poem is a lovely meditation on change and transitoriness \u2014 as signs of life. It is only those relationships and experiences which move, and evolve, and eventually disappear that are fully alive.<\/p>\n

Want the change. Be inspired by the flame
\nwhere everything shines as it disappears.<\/i><\/p>\n

We so want the opposite to be true. We reflexively want to grasp the world, to hold it fixed, so we can trust reality, know its rules, and feel secure every day. But Rilke invites us to see with the poet\u2019s keen eye the truth of the matter: that which doesn\u2019t change lacks life and loses beauty\u2013<\/p>\n

What locks itself in sameness has congealed.
\nIs it safer to be gray and numb?
\nWhat turns hard becomes rigid
\nand is easily shattered.<\/i><\/p>\n

We can\u2019t hold our lives fixed, and we can\u2019t hold ourselves fixed within our lives. The only thing to do is to step fully into each mysterious unknown day. <\/p>\n

I love the line\u2013<\/p>\n

Pour yourself out like a fountain.<\/i><\/p>\n

This statement so powerfully evokes the courage each day requires and the generosity of self that we can bring to each encounter.<\/p>\n

We give of ourselves not to secure our lives but to live our lives in fullness. And, in doing so, we discover more life in our lives.<\/p>\n

Flow into the knowledge that what you are seeking
\nfinishes often at the start, and, with ending, begins.<\/i><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not a mythology nerd, you may not have picked up on Rilke\u2019s reference to Daphne and the laurel\u2026<\/p>\n

And Daphne, becoming
\na laurel,
\ndares you to become the wind.<\/i><\/p>\n

In Greek mythology, Daphne was a stunningly beautiful nymph who lived and hunted in the woods. Because of her beauty men constantly sought her favors, but she refused everyone. Then the god Apollo fell in love with her, but she refused him as well. Daphne fled from Apollo, who continued to pursue her. When Apollo was about to grasp Daphne, she called upon her father\u2019s magical power, and she was instantly transformed into a laurel tree. The god Apollo, still in love with Daphne, but unable to embrace her, plucked a branch of the laurel and wore it as a wreath upon his head.<\/p>\n

By evoking Daphne, Rilke is calling up this rich myth of beauty, and the inability to posses it. Yet that beauty, in transforming itself into something that can no longer be truly held or lusted after, takes on a new life all its own, a life that yet dances in the wind.<\/p>\n

Rilke seems to be inviting us to encounter life with full presence and, with the courage of a witness rather than one who grasps, to appreciate beauty both in the coming and goings of life.<\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Rainer Maria Rilke<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nAhead of All Parting: The Selected Poetry and Prose of Rainer Maria Rilke<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThe Soul is Here for its Own Joy: Sacred Poems from Many Cultures<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nRilke\u2019s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nIn Praise of Mortality: Rilke\u2019s Duino Elegies & Sonnets to Orpheus<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
More Books >><\/a><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\"Rainer<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nRainer Maria Rilke<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Germany (1875 \u2013 1926) Timeline<\/a>
\nSecular or Eclectic<\/a><\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

More poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Want the change by Rainer Maria Rilke English version by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy Want the change. Be inspired by the flame where everything shines as it disappears. The artist, when sketching, loves nothing so much as the curve of the body as it turns away. What locks itself in sameness has congealed. Is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1340,1624,2400,1625,70,2401],"class_list":["post-6910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-change","tag-daphne","tag-impermanence","tag-laurel","tag-rainer-maria-rilke","tag-transitory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6910"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6911,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6910\/revisions\/6911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}