As Once the Winged Energy of Delight

Rainer Maria Rilke 1875 (Prague) – 1926 (Montreux)



As once the winged energy of delight
carried you over childhood's dark abysses,
now beyond your own life build the great
arch of unimagined bridges.

Wonders happen if we can succeed
in passing through the harshest danger;
but only in a bright and purely granted
achievement can we realize the wonder.

To work with Things in the indescribable
relationship is not too hard for us;
the pattern grows more intricate and subtle,
and being swept along is not enough.

Take your practiced powers and stretch them out
until they span the chasm between two
contradictions...For the god
wants to know himself in you.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 29, 2023

32 sec read
423

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA XBXB CACX XDXD
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 598
Words 106
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Rainer Maria Rilke

René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke — better known as Rainer Maria Rilke — was a Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist, "widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets", writing in both verse and highly lyrical prose. more…

All Rainer Maria Rilke poems | Rainer Maria Rilke Books

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    "As Once the Winged Energy of Delight" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/29640/as-once-the-winged-energy-of-delight>.

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