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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
I would like to step out of my heart’s door
and be under the great sky.
— Rilke, “Lament”
A myriad of shades, a plethora of images, the juxtaposition of sentiments which soothe and unsettle. A miscellany of visuals and existential hues. A mélange of nuances and distinctive sounds. A sense of clarity with the scent of perplexity. The mystical and the ordinary fluctuate in harmony. Chaotic perfection takes this collection by storm. A vision. A metaphor. A book. A thousand mirrors. The book of images. Das Buch der Bilder.
The last of his line
I have no paternal house,
nor have I lost one;
my mother birthed me out
into the world.
Here I stand now in the world and go
even deeper into the world
and have my happiness and have my woe
and have each one alone.
...
This poetry collection was first published in 1902, when Rilke was twenty-six years old. The second edition, which appeared in 1906, is the one I read, translated by Edward Snow and published in 2014. A work which apparently knew how to circumvent the challenges of poetry and translation, for Rilke’s verses acquire a natural fluency by virtue of Snow’s mastery.
Requiem
…
Life is only a part… of what?
Life is only a note… in what?
Life has meaning only joined with many
receding circles of increasing space, –
life is only the dream of a dream,
but waking is elsewhere.
The variety of themes and the original approach chosen by Rilke have distinguished his writing until evanescent categories were completely gone, elevating poetry to sometimes unfathomable levels. Sacred symbols and mundane illustrations coalesce in the land of polarity. If the reader finds a way to connect with the poetic expressions Rilke used to deconstruct the world, then a memorable journey will soon begin. A journey in which the light of day emphasizes the color of a rose, and the silence of a room shape the nights that never end. The days that bring solace. The nights that beg for poetry. The days of pressure. The nights that dislike the sound of echo; the nights that long for it afterwards amidst confusion. The nights of indifference and quick replacements too despicable to confess. The nights when childhood is a distant memory, when guardian angels seem oblivious, when life is heavier than the weight of all things.*
March 28, 17
* From the poem “The Neighbor”
** Also on my blog.
Love, love, love Rilke but I'm not in the right headspace to read this. I didn't expect this would include his lengthier poems. DNF for now.
Leaving a quote in case I come back to it.
Almost to the distant oceans
I can see the solemn ponderous
relentlessly denying sky.
Leaving a quote in case I come back to it.
Almost to the distant oceans
I can see the solemn ponderous
relentlessly denying sky.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
some lines and pieces i really liked. however, a lot of religious pieces. i know it was written a long time ago but very much seems written by a man. i want to give it a 3.75 but it is better than that. things to revisit for sure. need to read the more well known works
slow-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
While several of the poems spoke to me, most of them did not. I always think I love Rilke, but I think the truth is a bit more complicated. His body of work is large. There are poems that strike to the bone, but most do not. Such is life.
emotional
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
7/10
its fine, im not that big of a poetry guy but i still enjoyed a lot of the poems here
its fine, im not that big of a poetry guy but i still enjoyed a lot of the poems here