The Song Of The Blindman
I am blind, you out there that is a curse, Against one’s will, a contradiction, A heavy daily burden. I lay my hand on the arm of my wife, My grey hand upon her
Growing Old
In some summers there is so much fruit, The peasants decide not to reap any more. Not having reaped you, oh my days, My nights, have I let the slow flames Of your lovely
Spanish Dancer
As in one’s hand a lighted match blinds you before It comes aflame and sends out brilliant flickering Tongues to every side so, within the ring of the Spectators, her dance begins in hasty,
The Song Of The Widow
In the beginning life was good to me; It held me warm and gave me courage. That this is granted all while in their youth, How could I then have known of this. I
The Apple Orchard
Come let us watch the sun go down And walk in twilight through the orchard’s green. Does it not seem as if we had for long Collected, saved and harbored within us Old memories?
Sense Of Something Coming
I am like a flag in the center of open space. I sense ahead the wind which is coming, and must live It through. While the things of the world still do not move:
The Wait
It is life in slow motion, It’s the heart in reverse, It’s a hope-and-a-half: Too much and too little at once. It’s a train that suddenly Stops with no station around, And we can
Herr, Es Ist Zeit
Herr: es ist Zeit. Der Sommer war sehr groЯ. Leg deinen Schatten auf die Sonnenuhren, Und auf den Fluren laЯ die Winde los. Befiehl den letzten Früchten voll zu sein; Gieb innen noch zwei
The Sonnets To Orpheus: Book 2: VI
Rose, you majesty-once, to the ancients, you were Just a calyx with the simplest of rims. But for us, you are the full, the numberless flower, The inexhaustible countenance. In your wealth you seem
To Music
Music: breathing of statues. Perhaps: Silence of paintings. You language where all language Ends. You time Standing vertically on the motion of mortal hearts. Feelings for whom? O you the transformation Of feelings into
Falling Stars
Do you remember still the falling stars That like swift horses through the heavens raced And suddenly leaped across the hurdles Of our wishes do you recall? And we Did make so many! For
Song Of The Orphan
I am no one and never will be anyone, For I am far too small to claim to be; Not even later. Mothers and Fathers, Take pity on me. I fear it will not
Duino Elegies: The Tenth Elegy
That some day, emerging at last from the terrifying vision I may burst into jubilant praise to assenting angels! That of the clear-struck keys of the heart not one may fail To sound because
Water Lily
My whole life is mine, but whoever says so Will deprive me, for it is infinite. The ripple of water, the shade of the sky Are mine; it is still the same, my life.
Blank Joy
She who did not come, wasn’t she determined Nonetheless to organize and decorate my heart? If we had to exist to become the one we love, What would the heart have to create? Lovely