Friday, October 10, 2008

Poetry Friday



I'm thinking about failure and success, in our pursuits as well as in our relationships, and about what really lasts. Here's a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke.

What Survives
by Rainer Maria Rilke

Who says that all must vanish?
Who knows? Perhaps the flight
of the bird you wound remains,
And perhaps flowers survive
Caresses in us, in their ground.

Read the rest of the poem here.

Please visit Picture Book of The Day for this week's Poetry Friday Roundup.


4 comments:

Andromeda Jazmon said...

I do love Rilke. Thanks for this one.

jama said...

Lovely! Rilke is sublime :).

Mary Lee said...

This is making me think about the implications of all the small stuff. The gestures, but also the looks, the touches, the favors...

Yat-Yee said...

Cloudscome and jama: I'm glad you're Rilke fans too.

Mary Lee: Yes. The line that gets me is the one about the wounded bird's flight.

Thanks for visiting!