Heartbeat

Portrait of Rainer Maria Rilke
Rainer Maria Rilke 1875–1926

Only mouths are we. Who sings the distant heart which safely exists in the center of all things? His giant heartbeat is diverted in us into little pulses. And his giant grief is, like his giant jubilation, far too great for us. And so we tear ourselves away from him time after time, remaining only mouths. But unexepectedly and secretly the giant heartbeat enters our being, so that we scream ----, and are transformed in being and in countenance.

Keep reading

Discover more of Rainer Maria Rilke’s poetry.

Explore all poems

Readers

Reader discussion

Your turn

Shown with your comment.

Never published. Only so we can reach you.

Comments are read before they appear. See our terms.