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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


NARCISSUS by RAINER MARIA RILKE

Poem Explanation Poet Analysis

First Line: ENCIRCLED BY HER ARMS AS BY A SHELL
Last Line: SURFACE, DOES IT HOPE TO RENEW A CENTER

Encircled by her arms as by a shell,
she hears her being murmur,
while forever he endures
the outrage of his too pure image...


Wistfully following their example,
nature re-enters herself;
contemplating its own sap, the flower
becomes too soft, and the boulder hardens...


It's the return of all desire that enters
toward all life embracing itself from afar...
Where does it fall? Under the dwindling
surface, does it hope to renew a center?



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