Religion
Thou Anxious One
Translated by Jessie Lemont (1918) · From The Book of Hours
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.
Cite this poem
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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