The Poem


Does anyone remember the name of the poem Marion's says is her mother's favourite?

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Rilke's "The Panther" is mentioned but I can't remember if it's the favourite of Marion's mother. Is that what you were thinking of ?


“Instant gratification takes too long.”

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Yes, it was. Thank you!

What do you mean come down off the trapeze into the sawdust? That's circus talk!

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No problem - glad it was the right one !


“Instant gratification takes too long.”

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Her mother's favourite was "Archaic Torso of Apollo" by Rilke. Marion found traces of tears on the page with this poem, not with "The Panther".

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Yeah it was "Archaic Torso of Apollo," a beautiful poem.

Otherwise this stone would seem defaced
beneath the translucent cascade of the shoulders
and would not glisten like a wild beast's fur:

would not, from all the borders of itself,
burst like a star: for here there is no place
that does not see you. You must change your life.

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The brilliant poem "Archaic Torso of Apollo," (for me) recalls 'Ode on a Grecian Urn' by Keats in its illustration of art's ability to move people. In the right circumstances, it is understandable how this poem could evoke tears.

We cannot know his legendary head
with eyes like ripening fruit. And yet his torso
is still suffused with brilliance from inside,
like a lamp, in which his gaze, now turned to low,

gleams in all its power. Otherwise
the curved breast could not dazzle you so, nor could
a smile run through the placid hips and thighs
to that dark center where procreation flared.

Otherwise this stone would seem defaced
beneath the translucent cascade of the shoulders
and would not glisten like a wild beast’s fur:

would not, from all the borders of itself,
burst like a star: for here there is no place
that does not see you. You must change your life.

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In the right circumstances, it is understandable how this poem could evoke tears.
Especially if one were as stone emotionally. Thanks for transcribing the poem. It is indeed beautiful and wistfully passionate.
Keep silent unless what you are going to say is more important than silence.

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Forget your profile all that is outer stuff But pay attention to the one who walks beside you Who tends to be who you are not.


☁☀☁

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