The Sisters

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



Look how the same possibilities
unfold in their opposite demeanors,
as though one saw different ages
passing through two identical rooms.

Each thinks that she props up the other,
while resting wearily on her support;
and they can't make use of one another,
for they cause blood to rest on blood,

when as in the former times they softly touch
and try, along the tree-lined walks,
to feel themselves conducted and to lead;
ah, the ways they go are not the same.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 28, 2023

25 sec read
786

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXXX AXAX XXXX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 456
Words 84
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 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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    "The Sisters" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/29726/the-sisters>.

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