
Sleep – and there is death
the ever silent shadow
Living is the breath
Copyright Francis 2022
Sleep – and there is death
the ever silent shadow
Living is the breath
Copyright Francis 2022
Yellow butterfly
You are not given a name
I will catch the moon
Copyright Francis 2022
Dankness of the day
A moment’s contemplation
Stillness in the mind
Copyright Francis 2022
Oak-seers’ footsteps
hid by winter’s frozen shawl –
Whispers on cold winds
Copyright Francis 2022
Strand against the sea
Winter’s violence raging
Shake down for the new
Copyright Francis 2022
A sum of the parts
How I am put together
Praising creation
Copyright Francis 2022
Absorb red and green
reflecting cyanic blue
Things not as they seem
Copyright Francis 2022
I have several books by Rilke, but I think my favourite work is the Duino Elegies.
The poet was born in Prague in a German speaking community and wrote in German most of his life, then in French in his latter years in Switzerland.
So his works have been translated into English, which relies, naturally, on the sensibilities of the translator. Nevertheless, he is very much worth investigating. Few poets have suffered more for their art.
Copyright Francis 2021
The mother and son
in their eternal embrace —
creation in one
Copyright Francis 2021