The Mind
Solitude
Translated by Jessie Lemont (1918) · From The Book of Pictures
Solitude is like a rain
That from the sea at dusk begins to rise;
It floats remote across the far-off plain
Upward into its dwelling-place, the skies,
Then o'er the town it slowly sinks again.
Like rain it softly falls at that dim hour
When ghostly lanes turn toward the shadowy morn;
When bodies weighed with satiate passion's power
Sad, disappointed from each other turn;
When men with quiet hatred burning deep
Together in a common bed must sleep--
Through the gray, phantom shadows of the dawn
Lo! Solitude floats down the river wan ...
Cite this poem
MLA
Rilke, Rainer Maria. “Solitude.” Translated by Jessie Lemont. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/rilke/6/.
Chicago
Rilke, Rainer Maria. “Solitude.” Translated by Jessie Lemont. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/rilke/6/.
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