Water Lily
by Rainer Maria Rilke
My whole life is mine, but whoever says so
will deprive me, for it is infinite.
The ripple of water, the shade of the sky
are mine; it is still the same, my life.
No desire opens me: I am full,
I never close myself with refusal-
in the rythm of my daily soul
I do not desire-I am moved;
by being moved I exert my empire,
making the dreams of night real:
into my body at the bottom of the water
I attract the beyonds of mirrors...
Translated by A. Poulin
will deprive me, for it is infinite.
The ripple of water, the shade of the sky
are mine; it is still the same, my life.
No desire opens me: I am full,
I never close myself with refusal-
in the rythm of my daily soul
I do not desire-I am moved;
by being moved I exert my empire,
making the dreams of night real:
into my body at the bottom of the water
I attract the beyonds of mirrors...
Translated by A. Poulin
Water lily = Pac-Man? :D
ReplyDeleteAlso, reminds me of what Jimbostank said about the narrative of being unique--and the dichotomy of someone else thinking the same.
Tons of paradoxes.
ReplyDeleteI like the Pac-Man interpretation.
As soon as we start to think we understand, we again move backwards. The movement of this poem is great, the visual of the lily on the water swaying with life.
ReplyDelete