The Panther
His gaze has, from the passing of the bars,
gotten so tired that it holds nothing more.
To him it is, as if there were a thousand bars
And behind a thousand bars no world.
The soft stride of smooth strong steps,
that spins round in the tiniest circle,
is like a dance of strength around a center,
in which, numbly, a great will stands.
Only sometimes the curtain of the pupil
rises silently. — Then an image enters,
goes through the limbs’ tense silence —
and in the heart ceases to exist.
His gaze has, from the passing of the bars,
gotten so tired that it holds nothing more.
To him it is, as if there were a thousand bars
And behind a thousand bars no world.
The soft stride of smooth strong steps,
that spins round in the tiniest circle,
is like a dance of strength around a center,
in which, numbly, a great will stands.
Only sometimes the curtain of the pupil
rises silently. — Then an image enters,
goes through the limbs’ tense silence —
and in the heart ceases to exist.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Someone told me
It's all happening at the zoo.
I do believe it,
I do believe it's true.
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