The Second Duino Elegy

Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angels’ orders? And even if one of them pressed me to his heart, I would be lost; The space between us is far greater than the heavens, And I long for the earth’s beauty, its fleeting pledge, And even in waves I feel your presence, Like whispers of leaves in the night, Perishing like time itself.

The stars encircle me, Yet how disenchanted they feel, In their silence, so distant, and solitary, That God would lower himself so low, To comfort me in my existence in this universe.

Just as the branches twist and turn, Ever reaching toward the light, In this dance, we too must seek, The spiritual home within ourselves, Among the shadows that dwell in twilight.

• Rainer Maria Rilke