I LIVE MY LIFE IN GROWING ORBITS

[mercifulserpent]

I LIVE MY LIFE IN GROWING ORBITS

I live my life in growing orbits
which move out over the things of the world.
Perhaps I can never achieve the last,
but that will be my attempt.

I am circling around God, around the ancient tower,
and I have been circling for a thousand years,
and I still don't know if I am a falcon, or a storm,
or a great song.


RAINER MARIA RILKE

Translated from the German by Robert Bly