From a kind reader I received a poem in response to a poem, the one I posted here recently, “The Birthnight.” It was only a few months ago that I borrowed a hefty volume of Rilke’s poems from the library, and I think I looked at every one. If I saw this one, I forgot it already; in any case, I’m very glad to have it brought to my attention.

I AM, YOU ANXIOUS ONE

I am, you anxious one.
Don’t you sense me, ready to break
into being at your touch?
My murmurings surround you like shadowy wings.
Can’t you see me standing before you
cloaked in stillness?
Hasn’t my longing ripened in you
from the beginning
as fruit ripens on a branch?
I am the dream you are dreaming.
When you want to awaken, I am that wanting:
I grow strong in the beauty you behold.
And with the silence of stars I enfold
your cities made by time.

– Rainer Maria Rilke, The Book of Hours