Extinguish Thou My Eyes

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



Extinguish Thou my eyes:I still can see Thee,
deprive my ears of sound:I still can hear Thee,
and without feet I still can come to Thee,
and without voice I still can call to Thee.

Sever my arms from me, I still will hold Thee
with all my heart as with a single hand,
arrest my heart, my brain will keep on beating,
and Should Thy fire at last my brain consume,
the flowing of my blood will carry Thee.

Translated by Albert Ernest Flemming

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

26 sec read
484

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAAA AXBXA B
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 438
Words 89
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 5, 1

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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