I live my life in ever widening circles
that reach out across the world
I may not reach the last
but I give myself to it.
I am circling around God, around the ancient tower
and I have been circling for ten thousand years.
Still, I do not know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
-Rainer Maria Rilke
I am always growing up
and learning more and more
Maybe I will not learn everything
But I will keep trying
I am thinking about God, about the world
I have been thinking for a very long time
I still don't know who I am:
a falcon, a storm, or a great song
Ever Always, constant
Widening To grow out, expand
The last The final goal
Give Commit, promise to try
Ancient Very old
Falcon A kind of bird that hunts small animals, raptor
Wow! I love this poem. It is like sitting by the beach watching the waves roll in and asking the same questions again and again. You never get an answer, but you can never stop asking. We all have these things inside us: anger, sadness, joy, raw incomprehensible energy. (Check your dictionary). What do we become? Our anger, our sadness, our joy?
I love reading other people’s versions of this poem. I always find a new and beautiful way to think about being alive.
I hope you wrote your own version. Will you share it with us? Will you recite it for us?