at first the word began, then
the world became our land,
where sea and sky greet we almost seem,
to see the space between.........

Monday, December 6, 2010

To Rilke, who was lost in the thrall of Lou Andreas-Salome


    You Alone Are Real to Me

To Rainer Maria Rilke……



Like a Falcon swiftly passing on the way to a kill,
Your beauty surprised me;
As if the dream I embraced,
Embraced all I could be.
Yes, only you, alone, are real to me.

As the Dolphin rises and, in huff joy,
Flays the air with its rising;
And I , too, leap like freed seed.
Oh however hard I try to capture you, you
Who, alone are only real to me.

The cuffed pistal with the rosy splay,
I see in my garden everyday;
The heel marks of some creatures path,
Reminding me of your shadow, as in a blanched photograph:
Still, you alone are real to me.

Only you take my hope away, each time you carelessly pass,
You soar long enough to say, I am you love but beauty passes,
And you can only say good bye.
Above you I will soar your souls aloneness, and
You will never curse my cruelty.

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