Religion

Thou Anxious One

by Rainer Maria Rilke 1875–1926

Translated by Jessie Lemont (1918) · From The Book of Hours

Religion

Thou Anxious One! And dost thou then not hear
Against thee all my surging senses sing?
About thy face in circles drawing near
My thought floats like a fluttering white wing.

Dost thou not see, before thee stands my soul
In silence wrapt my Springtime's prayer to pray?
But when thy glance rests on me then my whole
Being quickens and blooms like trees in May.

When thou art dreaming then I am thy Dream,
But when thou art awake I am thy Will
Potent with splendour, radiant and sublime,
Expanding like far space star-lit and still
Into the distant mystic realm of Time.

MLA

Rilke, Rainer Maria. “Thou Anxious One.” Translated by Jessie Lemont. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/rilke/43/.

Chicago

Rilke, Rainer Maria. “Thou Anxious One.” Translated by Jessie Lemont. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/rilke/43/.

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