And so I grip myself and choke down that call note
of dark sobbing. Ah, whom can we turn to 
in our need? Not Angels, not humans,
and the sly animals see at once
how little at home we are
in the interpreted world. That leaves us
some tree on a slope, to which our eyes returned
day after day; leaves us yesterday's street
and the coddled loyalty of an old habit
that liked it here, lingered and never left.
O and the night, the night, when the wind full of worldspace 
gnaws at our faces -, for whom won't the night be there,
desired, softly disappointing, setting hard tasks
for the single heart. Is it easier on lovers?
Ah, they only use each other to mask their fates.

DUINO ELEGIES: 1 - Rainer Maria Rilke (translated by Edward Snow)

DUINO ELEGIES: 1 - Und so verhalt ich mich

I am a composer and writer, based in Norwich, England. Please find more about my work at my website - https://www.seeingisbeveiling.com My music is published by Universal Edition, and my books are published by the artel press. https://www.universaledition.com/en/Contacts/Michael-John-Gerard-Higgins/ https://www.theartelpress.co.uk/shop/artists-book/by-unseen-hands/

DUINO ELEGIES: 1 - Und so verhalt ich mich

Michael John Gerard Higgins