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More poems by Rainer Maria RilkeRainer Maria Rilke | Print this page.Print | Order a PoetryNotes Analysis of this poem.Analysis | View and Write CommentsComments

To Say Before Going To Sleep

Rainer Maria Rilke

I would like to sing someone to sleep,
have someone to sit by and be with.
I would like to cradle you and softly sing,
be your companion while you sleep or wake.
I would like to be the only person
in the house who knew: the night outside was cold.
And would like to listen to you
and outside to the world and to the woods.

The clocks are striking, calling to eachother,
and one can see right to the edge of time.
Outside the house a strange man is afoot
and a strange dog barks, wakened from his sleep.
Beyond that there is silence.

My eyes rest upon your face wide-open;
and they hold you gently, letting you go
when something in the dark begins to move.


Translated by Albert Ernest Flemming

Added: 2 Mar 2002 | Last Read: 11 Oct 2008 4:24 PM | Viewed: 4363 times

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URL: http://plagiarist.com/poetry/3307/ | Viewed on 11 October 2008.
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