Dusk Quote by Rainer Maria Rilke
““Odd, the words: ‘while away the time’. How to hold it fast the harder thing. Who is not fearful: where is there a staying, where in all this is there any being? Look, as the day slows towards the space that draws it into dusk: rising became upstanding, standing a laying down, and then that which accepts its lying blurs to darkness. Mountains rest, outgloried be the stars - but even there, time’s transition glimmers. Ah, nightly refuged in my wild heart, roofless, the imperishable lingers. --- Wunderliches Wort: die Zeit vertreiben! Sie zu halten, wäre das Problem. Denn, wen ängstigts nicht: wo ist ein Bleiben, wo ein endlich Sein in alledem? - Sieh, der Tag verlangsamt sich, entgegen jenem Raum, der ihn nach Abend nimmt: Aufstehn wurde Stehn, und Stehn wird Legen, und das willig Liegende verschwimmt - Berge ruhn, von Sternen überprächtigt; - aber auch in ihnen flimmert Zeit. Ach, in meinem wilden Herzen nächtigt obdachlos die Unvergänglichkeit.””
About This Quote
Source Poem: Untitled, 1910s (German/English)
The poem contemplates the fleeting nature of time, fear of stagnation, and the perpetual transition from day to night, seeking permanence in impermanence.
In simple terms: Time passes, we fear staying still.
Key Takeaway
Embrace change, seek meaning.
Themes
philosophy
existence
impermanence
Mood
melancholic
contemplative
poetic
Type
lyem
philosophical
ly
When to use this quote
- nighttime reflection
- personal meditation
- creative writing
Key Concepts
temporal flow
existential anxiety
nature cycles
Questions to Reflect On
- What does “imperishable” mean to you?
- How do you confront time’s passage?
A Different Perspective
Finding permanence may be impossible.
