Thursday, December 17, 2009

Da neigt sich die Stunde and ruhrt mich an



The hour is striking so close above me,
so clear and sharp,
that all my senses ring with it.
I feel it now: there's a power in me
to grasp and give shape to my world.

I know that nothing has ever been real
without my beholding it.
All becoming has needed me.
My looking ripens things
and they come toward me, to meet and be met.


--R.M. Rilke from A Book of the Monastic Life

12 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Lisa Ursu said...

"My looking ripens things
and they come toward me, to meet and be met."
This is an absolutely beautiful post.
Thank you for sharing these words, and pics.

Reya Mellicker said...

I publish it every now and then, and I'm always blown away by its perfection, if such a thing exists!

Elizabeth said...

Rilke is the man
so totally weird and wonderful and somehow
RIGHT
I have read and re-read his poems
and still can't quite get a bead on them
his letters to a young poet are lovely

Harlequin said...

Man...is this not just the perfect encapsulation of our place in the world? Beautiful.

Reya Mellicker said...

It describes my reality when I'm in my own power, definitely.

Ronda Laveen said...

Thanks for this because I've not read or heard of Rilke. His work is so quantum and sounds much like qualities of the fifth dimension. A wonderful state of being to stay in as much as possible.

Not to mention the appropriateness for the this time of year.

Love, r

Rosaria Williams said...

Very interesting concept here. Thanks for sharing.

Pauline said...

oh to lean against that tree trunk in the sunshine and feel the senses reel. Your photos have an amazing way of drawing the looker in...

Bee said...

I really like the first stanza, but am not so sure about the second. It seems rather egocentric!

Meri said...

Does a thing exist if no eyes have seen it? "My looking ripens things."
Rilke always challenges, captures attention.

Mrsupole said...

The tree looks so majestic and empty, just waiting for a time of renewal and fulfilment. It is waiting to meet it's future, so fitting for the poem.

Thank you for sharing. It was wonderful.

God bless.