Now it is time that gods came walking out

Now it is time that gods came walking out

of lived in Things…

Time that they came and knocked down every wall

Inside my house . New page . Only the wind

From such a turning could be strong enough

To toss the air as a shovel tosses dirt:

A fresh field of breath . O gods, gods!

Who used to come so often and are still

Asleep in the Things around us, who serenely

Rise and at wells that we can only guess at

Splash icy water on your necks and faces,

And lightly add your restedness to what seems

Already filled to bursting: our full lives.

Once again let it be your morning, gods.

We keep repeating. You alone are source.

With you the world arises, and your dawn

Gleams on each crack and crevice of our failure…


Rainer Maria Rilke

Translated by Stephen Mitchell