AUTUMN
The leaves are falling, falling as from way off,
as though far gardens withered in the skies:
they are falling with denying gestures.
And in the nights the heavy earth is falling
from all the stars down into loneliness.
We are all falling. This hand falls.
And look at others: it is in them all.
And yet there is one who holds this falling
endlessly gently in his hands.
By Rainer Maria Rilke
(Translated from the German by M.D. Norton)
4 comments:
Rilke's work is beautiful but melancholy-- winter blues getting you down?
Hope you find some solice in your day
even if it's some small pleasure like a good cup of coffee and / or a great book. Have you read Birth of Venus yet? It's the perfect form of escapism!
(Another one is The Ugly Stepsister, which is a twist on Cinderella-- very well written and a great read...)
Know how many extra steps it is to get good English language literature over here. If you haven't read either of these send me your snail mail address and I'll mail them to you! (betsy *dot* verheij *at* eun *dot* org).
Thanks, Betsy! I've liked this poem a long time--probably because it expresses so well the bittersweetness of life. Those books you mentioned sound good, I'll email you soon (maybe we can exchange books by mail.
Sounds great! :-)
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