RILKE | July: Night Flame

RILKE | July: Night Flame

"The impression of my smallest movement
remains visible in the silky silence"

from BOOK OF IMAGES
by Rainer Maria Rilke

This week, an image called Night
Flame. Also: anew translation
from the German.

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	"The impression of my smallest movement remains visible in the silky silence" from BOOK OF IMAGES by Rainer Maria Rilke This week, an image called Night Flame. Also: anew translation from the German. Follow my RilkeQuotes on twitter \| rss \|

The guest poem for this week is new English translation from the work of the German language
poet, Rainer Maria Rilke (from the Rilke website, a concise hyperlinked biography).

Die Stille

Hörst du Geliebte, ich hebe die Hände -
hörst du: es rauscht...
Welche Gebärde der Einsamen fände
sich nicht von vielen Dingen belauscht?
Hörst du, Geliebte, ich schließe die Lider
und auch das ist Geräusch bis zu dir.
Hörst du, Geliebte, ich hebe sie wieder......
... aber warum bist du nicht hier.

Der Abdruck meiner kleinsten Bewegung
bleibt in der seidenen Stille sichtbar;
unvernichtbar drückt die geringste Erregung
in den gespannten Vorhang der Ferne sich ein.
Auf meinen Atemzügen heben und senken
die Sterne sich.
Zu meinen Lippen kommen die Düfte zur Tränke,
und ich erkenne die Handgelenke
entfernter Engel.
Nur die ich denke: Dich
seh ich nicht.

Buch der Bilder
Des ertsten Buches erster Teil

The Silence

Do you hear, Beloved, I'm lifting my hands—
Do you hear: there's a rustling....
Which gestures of the solitary one
have not been overheard by the many things?
Do you hear, Beloved, I'm closing my eyelids
and even that is noise to you.
Do you hear, Beloved, I'm lifting them again......
... but why are you not here.

The impression of my smallest movement
remains visible in the silky silence;
indestructibly, the least excitement presses
itself upon the tense curtain of the distance.
Stars in the night sky rise and fall
with my every breath.
Fragrances come to my lips to drink,
and I recognize the wrists
of distant angels.
Only the one of whom I think: You,
I do not see.

(tr. Cliff Crego)

| see also the Rilke Posters |

| listen to other recordings in English and German of twelve poems from
The Book of Images at The Rilke Download Page (# Includes instructions) |

See other recent additions of new English translations of Rilke's poetry, together with
featured photographs at:

(9) June: Windflowers and the Poetry of Praise

(8) June: The Poetry of Images of Movement

See also a selection of recent Picture/Poem "Rilke in translation" features at the Rilke Archive.

See also another website
by Cliff Crego:
The Poetry of
Rainer Maria Rilke

a presentation of 80 of the
best poems of Rilke in
both German and
new English translations:
biography, links, posters