Les Roses I
By Rainer Maria Rilke
( translation: A. Poulin, Jr. )
If we’re sometimes so amazed
By your freshness, happy rose,
It’s that deep inside yourself,
Petal against petal, you’re in repose.
Fully awake while their center’s slept
Who knows how long, this silent
Heart’s tendernesses touch,
Converge into an urgent mouth.