A young man. . . springtime. . . Rilke. . . . . doesn’t that sound hopeful, Romantic, free? Can you remember that time in your own life? That feeling of life-is-just-beginning and anything-can-happen? Can you remember, in the days before young people were cooped up and stalled out in their apartments, the joy of seeing someone busting with that energy?
Today’s guest poster, Pat Duggan of Pittsburgh, brings that moment to the forefront. Duggan posted an excerpt from Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem “Go to the Limits of Your Longing.” I’ll post the poem in its entirety below the pictures.
Thanks, Pat! (And I really like the poemelf.com you put at the bottom of the paper. . . )
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Go to the Limits of Your Longing
by Rainer Maria Rilke
God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.
These are the words we dimly hear:
You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.
Flare up like a flame
and make big shadows I can move in.
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me.
Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.
Give me your hand.
So perfect for now and always
I love the magnolia especially with the poem embraced by it
This poem holds deep meaning for me. I was introduced to Rilke only about 10 years ago. I read Letters to a Young Poet while on pilgrimage in Paris (yes I did that! An art and spirituality pilgrimage exactly 5 years ago this month), where I spent time in Rodin’s garden sketching and learning about the connection between the two men.
Today’s featured poem includes the words “go to the edge of your longing and clothe me there” (a slightly different translation). When I read this the first time, the words touched a deep place inside me. I ruminate on these words often, and have them hanging on the wall above my desk.
So, thank you to you and to Pat Duggan for a beautiful start to my day!
________________________ Julia Ralston Website | Instagram
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A beautiful reflection, thank you
This poem has often spoken deeply to me but never as powerfully as today in the midst of this pandemic.
“Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.”
Just what I needed to hear.