Sense Of Something Coming



I am like a flag in the center of open space.
I sense ahead the wind which is coming, and must live
it through.
while the things of the world still do not move:
the doors still close softly, and the chimneys are full
of silence,
the windows do not rattle yet, and the dust still lies down.

I already know the storm, and I am troubled as the sea.
I leap out, and fall back,
and throw myself out, and am absolutely alone
in the great storm.

Translated by Robert Bly

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

28 sec read
1,419

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXXXXXX XXXX X
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 460
Words 94
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 7, 4, 1

Rainer Maria Rilke

 · 1926 · Montreux

René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke — better known as Rainer Maria Rilke — was a Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist, "widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets", writing in both verse and highly lyrical prose. more…

All Rainer Maria Rilke poems | Rainer Maria Rilke Books

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1 Comment
  • Shocam
    A lone warrior all alone in an intense storm standing with all strength. Good depiction
    LikeReply3 months ago

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"Sense Of Something Coming" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/29708/sense-of-something-coming>.

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