Rainer Maria Rilke. Selected Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke: A Translation from the German and Commentary by Robert Bly. New York: Harper and Row, 1981, 49.
Sometimes a man stands up during supper
and walks outdoors, and keeps on walking,
because of a church that stands somewhere in the East.
And his children say blessings on him as if he were dead.
And another man, who remains inside his own house,
stays there, inside the dishes and in the glasses,
so that his children have to go far out into the world
towards that same church, which he forgot.
2 comments:
What do we need to do to live our true lives? What are we headed towards? What secret treasure is buried within us, waiting to be uncovered? What are the mistakes of our ancestors that we are trying to put right? Are we on our path, or afraid to set out?
I pray that I am on the path leading me towards what is most valuable. Step by step, I struggle towards it. Please guide my steps when I cannot see in front of me.
I have forgotten church mostly, though I introduced my children there first. Now I hear heaven's call to me from many other sources, sometimes church, usually not. And sadly church did not welcome my children wholeheartedly, whole-spiritedly. For years, I looked for a church to call home again. And none arrived. Instead, a 12-step group showed itself, and there I found a Power greater than myself, Who could restore my sanity. She has awakened a new spirituality in me, and I am grateful. Still, I pray that my children find their spiritual home soon, soon.
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