Oh, you tender ones, sometimes place
your feet in the breath not intended for you.
Let it divide as it reaches your cheeks,
reuniting behind you, tremulously.
Oh, you blessed ones, oh, you whole ones,
you who seem the beginning of hearts.
Bows for the arrows and targets of arrows,
you smile more eternally through your tears.
Don't be afraid to suffer. The weight,
add it back in with the weight of the earth.
Mountains are heavy, and heavy the seas.
You could not even carry the trees
that you planted as children. Too heavy they've grown.
Ah, but the ether... ah, but the spaces...
Rainer Maria Rilke
Sonnets to Orpheus
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