Rilke - Sonnets To Orpheus 2 Poem by Michael Maxwell Steer

For a god it's easy
but how shall I, mere man, fly out
between the lyre's narrow strings?
Duality traps my mind -

no temple for Apollo
whose song, rich as time, differs
from my half-hearted ballads. Easy
for him - but for us …?

Whose are the careless stars?
Are they youth's, with parted lips?
Or is their sudden song

heard only when time is past -
a deeper breath singing throu us,
the air a trembling god?


A free version of Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus Bk1.3
Ein Gott vermags. Wie aber, sag mir, soll

To hear my setting of these words visit soundcloud.com/mmsteer/ search
sonnets-to-orpheus-rilke