You Darkness
You darkness, that I come from,
I love you more than all the fires
that fence in the world,
for the fire makes
a circle of light for everyone,
and then no one outside learns of you.
But the darkness pulls in everything:
shapes and fires, animals and myself,
how easily it gathers them! —
powers and people —
and it is possible a great energy
is moving near me.
I have faith in nights.
Rainer Maria Rilke
(translation by Robert Bly)
I first read this poem on the night Edythe died, lying in a spare bed at her house, in the darkness. As I was sleepless, I had pulled up the blog on my phone and Cate over at Beyond the Fields We Know (see sidebar) had shared it. Something about it spoke to how I was feeling in that silent, sad house and it's been on my mind ever since, especially since we are entering the period of the year with the longest nights. I did a bit of reading about Rainer Maria Rilke and it turns out that his birthday was the same day that Edythe died--December 4th. It seemed a strange coincidence.
That is an odd coincidence. It's a beautiful poem.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I just read of your mother-in-law's passing. So sorry to hear. Edythe sounds like she was a lovely lady. Not everyone is so welcoming to "newcomers" to the family, although they should be. And good for her: she lives on in those she saved through organ donation.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for your loss of your mother-in-law. We are never ready for the pain that comes with losing someone important in our lives.
ReplyDeleteWe studied some of Rilke's poems at school, hardly surprising since it was of course a German school and he is one of the best known and most popular German poets.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you have come across the one he wrote about autumn.
It's a peculiar poem and a peculiar notion but I must say that I rather liked it. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete