Behind All Words, the Unsayable Stands

Now You See It

What you don’t see
helps you see what
you do see: the keyhole
sharpens the thrill
in your brain,
even if there is
no one
in the room,
shadows
wafting across
the white sheets
as a song drifts in
the window,
her voice so pure
you can see
the face it rises from,
for what you see
helps you see what
you don’t see.

~ Ron Padgett ~

~~~~~~~~~~~

listen

hiding in this cage
of visible matter

is the invisible
lifebird

pay attention
to her

she is singing
your song

~ Kabir ~
Sushil Rao translation
Art: “The Great Family” by René Magritte

~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy are those who know:
Behind all words, the Unsayable stands;
And from that source alone, the Infinite
Crosses over to gladness, and us –

Free of our bridges
Built with the stone of distinctions;
So that always, within each delight,
We gaze at what is purely single and joined.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~

(On February 15, 1924, Rainer Maria Rilke inscribed these lines
on the copy of The Duino Elegies that he gave to his Polish translator.)
Photo by Cyrus Crossan on Unsplash

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