Rilke - Sonnets To Orpheus 5 Poem by Michael Maxwell Steer

Beneath all, the primordial roots
gnarled and tangled in the earth
supporting the broad-leafed canopy
unseen and secret source of life.

Helmet and huntsman's horn, ancient
wisdom of a desperate race,
men in savage harmony,
their women-folk fair as lutes,

branches springing from crowded trunk
all linked in one unending chain
save one … climb, o climb

even as they break - climb
to the very topmost which
at last bows to form a lyre.


A free version of Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus Bk1.17
Zu unterst de Alte, verworrn,

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