Waterlily by Rainer Maria Rilke

[Serena Duvet]

Waterlily

My whole life is mine, but whoever says so
will deprive me, for it is infinite.
The ripple of water, the shade of the sky
are mine; it is still the same, my life.

No desire opens me: I am full,
I never close myself with refusal-
in the rythm of my daily soul
I do not desire-I am moved;

by being moved I exert my empire,
making the dreams of night real:
into my body at the bottom of the water
I attract the beyonds of mirrors...


Rainer Maria Rilke [translated by A. Poulin]

[weboflife]

Thankyou for this.Aquatic plants are part of my business so I was especially attracted to this poem.

[Serena Duvet]

Dear Weboflife,  I am glad the you like the poem.  I am trying to find a better translation.

Waterlilies are so beautiful.  Since you like them so much, here is a time-lapse
video of a  Giant Waterlily blooming at the  Kew Gardens, England.



The Giant Waterlily blooms twice, at first in the evening! 
Its enormous leaves and long stems have spines to keep fish from eating them. 
The greenhouse was built specifically for them at Kew Gardens in 1852.

Serena