Nature
In April
Translated by Jessie Lemont (1918) · From The Book of Pictures
Again the woods are odorous, the lark
Lifts on upsoaring wings the heaven gray
That hung above the tree-tops, veiled and dark,
Where branches bare disclosed the empty day.
After long rainy afternoons an hour
Comes with its shafts of golden light and flings
Them at the windows in a radiant shower,
And rain drops beat the panes like timorous wings.
Then all is still. The stones are crooned to sleep
By the soft sound of rain that slowly dies;
And cradled in the branches, hidden deep
In each bright bud, a slumbering silence lies.
Cite this poem
MLA
Rilke, Rainer Maria. “In April.” Translated by Jessie Lemont. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/rilke/18/.
Chicago
Rilke, Rainer Maria. “In April.” Translated by Jessie Lemont. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/rilke/18/.
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