Religion

The Angels

by Rainer Maria Rilke 1875–1926

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

Religion

They all have tired mouths
And luminous, illimitable souls;
And a longing (as if for sin)
Trembles at times through their dreams.

They all resemble one another,
In God's garden they are silent
Like many, many intervals
In His mighty melody.

But when they spread their wings
They awaken the winds
That stir as though God
With His far-reaching master hands
Turned the pages of the dark book of Beginning.

MLA

Rilke, Rainer Maria. “The Angels.” Translated by Jessie Lemont. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/rilke/5/.

Chicago

Rilke, Rainer Maria. “The Angels.” Translated by Jessie Lemont. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/rilke/5/.

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