The Archaic Torso of Apollo
Rainer Maria Rilke
(Translated by Stephan Mitchell)
We cannot know his legendary headwith eyes like ripening fruit. And yet his torsois still suffused with brilliance from inside,like a lamp, in which his gaze, now turned to low,
gleams in all its power. Otherwisethe curved breast could not dazzle you so, nor could a smile run through the placid hips and thighsto that dark center where procreation flared.
Otherwise this stone would seem defacedbeneath the translucent cascade of the shouldersand would not glisten like a wild beast's fur:
would not, from all the borders of itself,burst like a star: for here there is no placethat does not see you. You must change your life.
Thank you all my lovely readers for dealing with my lack of posting recently! I got back from Holland a week ago, and things have been absolutely crazy since then. I haven't even uploaded pictures yet-but I'll be sure to post them here once I do (:
I've been really drawn to this poem recently, and the last line, originally "Du Mubt Dein Leben Andern" (German for "You must change your life") has just been ringing in my head.
What do you think?
