It’s possible I am pushing through solid rock
in flintlike layers, as the ore lies, alone;
I am such a long way in I see no way through,
and no space: everything is close to my face,
and everything close to my face is stone.
I don’t have much knowledge yet in grief
so this massive darkness makes me small.
You be the master: make yourself fierce, break in:
then your great transforming will happen to me,
and my great grief cry will happen to you.
Rainer Maria Rilke
(Translated by Robert Bly)
Where does this Rilke poem come from and whose translation is it? It’s wonderful! Thanks,
Clare
Clare, Sorry to not have the translator’s name. If you choose a few lines, put them in Google, I bet you can find it.
The translator is Robert Bly.
Thanks for that information Jane.