Hi all,
I attempted a translation of Rilke last year . . . not entirely
happy with it, due to the rather oppresively regular iambics,
but here it is --
BLACK CAT Rainer Maria Rilke
A ghost is real enough: your gaze
may knock and sound upon it, clear.
But here, confronting pitch-black fur,
your stare will sink without a trace
the way a madman's fisted rage
against the dark will disappear,
absorbed within his quilted cage.
Each glance that ever fell on her
she hoards, inside her self: each one
surveyed in turn at twisted leisure,
slept with. If your face becomes
her sudden focus, look - you're done.
An image trapped in amber eyes:
your self: a prehistoric fly.
Andy
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