Rilke - Sonnets To Orpheus 3 Poem by Michael Maxwell Steer

So my soft darling, step occasionally
into this little-heeding breath of mine;
let me shudder as you stroke my cheek,
leave me glowing as you pass beyond.

O holy one, O blessed wholeness,
envoy of the heart's voyage,
bow for my arrow, my arrows' target …
ever-loving tear-stained smile.

Take no notice of your present suffering.
Lay your heaviness with the earth -
Can you weigh the mountains or the ocean?

Even the trees you planted as saplings
have long since grown too heavy for you to bear.
Ah, but that breeze …


A free version of Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus Bk1.4
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To hear my setting of these words visit soundcloud.com/mmsteer/ search
sonnets-to-orpheus-rilke