Piano Practice

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



The summer hums. The afternoon fatigues;
she breathed her crisp white dress distractedly
and put into it that sharply etched etude
her impatience for a reality

that could come: tomorrow, this evening--,
that perhaps was there, was just kept hidden;
and at the window, tall and having everything,
she suddenly could feel the pampered park.

With that she broke off; gazed outside, locked
her hands together; wished for a long book--
and in a burst of anger shoved back
the jasmine scent. She found it sickened her.

Translated by Edward Snow

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 05, 2023

27 sec read
214

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXAA BXBX AXXX X
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 534
Words 93
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 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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    "Piano Practice" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/29702/piano-practice>.

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