| Margarete Münsterberg, ed., trans. A Harvest of German Verse. 1916. | | | | Growing Blind | | By Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) |
| | | SHE sat, like all the rest of us, at tea. | |
| It seemed at first as if she raised her cup | |
| Not quite as all the others held theirs up. | |
| She smiled: her smile was pitiful to see. | |
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| And when we rose at last with talk and laughter, | 5 |
| And through the many rooms with idle pace, | |
| As chance would have it, strolled from place to place— | |
| Then I saw her. She slowly followed after, | |
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| Restrained, like one who must be calm and cool | |
| Because she soon will sing before a crowd; | 10 |
| Upon her happy eyes, without a cloud, | |
| The light fell from outside, as on a pool. | |
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| She followed slowly, hesitating, shy, | |
| As if some height or bridge must still be passed, | |
| And yet—as if, when that was done, at last | 15 |
| She would no longer walk her way, but fly. | | | | |
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