friday poem

November 06, 2014

ne

I just read this poem and it makes me think of the news I heard this morning from Dallas. One of my son's is a policeman. On July 4th , he had a "gang alert" while he was working. 

» "Let This Darkness be a Bell Tower"

Quiet friend who has come so far,
feel how your breathing makes more space around you.
Let this darkness be a bell tower
and you the bell. As you ring,

what batters you becomes your strength.
Move back and forth into the change.
What is it like, such intensity of pain?
If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine.

In this uncontainable night,
be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses,
the meaning discovered there.

And if the world has ceased to hear you,
say to the silent earth: I flow.
To the rushing water, speak: I am.

Sonnets to Orpheus II, 29

Ranier Marie Rilke