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.

Added: on June 26th, 2005 at 9:03 PM | Viewed: 4586 times | Comments (1)

Poet: Rainer Maria Rilke
Poem: Archaic Torso Of Apollo

Poem of the Day on:
Oct 5 2003

Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Archaic Torso Of Apollo, has received one comment so far. Click here to read it, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Rainer Maria Rilke with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!