Towards a new experience of time? LO21216

Winfried Dressler (winfried.dressler@voith.de)
Tue, 6 Apr 1999 22:41:57 +0100

Replying to LO21176 --

Thank you, Winfried, for sharing the poem from Rilke. It is one of the few
poems I know by heart.

I wish to share another poem by Rilke, that has to do with the power of
time control, yet its final impossiblity. I am sorry, I cannot translate
it in english, but if someone can find a translation, I would be happy to
know, that this dense and strong poem is available to those of you as
well, who cannot read and understand german.

Gott im Mittelalter

Und sie hatten ihn sich erspart
und sie wollten, daB er sei und richte
und sie hangten schlieBlich wie Gewichte
zu verhindern seine Himmelfahrt
an ihn ihrer groBen Kathedralen Last und Masse.
Und er sollte nur uber seine grenzenlosen Zahlen
zeigend kreisen und wie eine Uhr
Zeichen geben ihrem Tun und Tagwerk.
Aber plotzlich kam er ganz in Gang
und die Leute der entsetzten Stadt
hieBen ihn vor seiner Stimme bang
weiterziehn mit ausgehangtem Schlagwerk
und entflohn vor seinem Angesicht.

Rainer Maria Rilke

[Host's Note: I have especially enjoyed Rilke's poetry. Can anyone provide
a reasonable translation of this poem, "God in the Middle Ages"? ...Rick]

Having arrived at Rilke, I cannot stop here but wish to share the
third poem, which I love so much, that I learnt it by heart years ago.

One question, that arises again and again, when I think about emergence
and immergence is, whether we should fear immergence and whether it makes
sense to fear or even try to avoid immergence - mementu mori. Herr lehre
mich bedenken, daB ich sterben muB. Lord, teach me not to forget that I
will have to die. This definitely will yield to a new experience of time!
Lifetime as well as the final hour.

I believe, that it is at the edge from faith to unconditional love, the
highest emergent, where immergence loses its terror. The following poem is
the finest expression of the level of faith I know. Again, if anybody
could provide an englisch translation, I would be very happy.

Herbst

Die Blatter fallen, fallen wie von weit,
als welkten in den Himmeln ferne Garten
und sie fallen mit verneinender Gebarde.
Und in den Nachten fallt die schwere Erde
aus allen Sternen in die Einsamkeit.

Wir alle fallen, diese Hand da fallt
und sieh dir andere an, es ist in allen.
Und doch ist einer, welcher dieses Fallen
unendlich sanft in seinen Handen halt.

Rainer Maria Rilke

[Host's Note: here is a translation of the above poem which Kurt Mueller
posted on the web.

AUTUMN

The leaves are falling down the world's abyss
as if in heaven distant gardens wither.
They fall in silence, meekly without mirth.
And through eternal night this heavy earth
falls from all stars to utter loneliness.
We are falling, and it never ends.
Just look around you - it's in everything.
Yet there is One, above the global ring,
who holds this fall most gently in his hands.

Rainer Maria Rilke
trans Kurt Mueller

...Rick]

-- 

"Winfried Dressler" <winfried.dressler@voith.de>

Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>