What angel, if I cried out, would hear me?
And even if one of them impulsively embraced me,
I'd be crushed by its strength. For beauty
is just the beginning of a terror we can barely stand:
we admire it because it calmly refuses to crush us.

Every angel terrifies.

***

When are you going to learn?
Take the emptiness you hold in your arms
and scatter it into the open spaces we breathe:
maybe the birds will feel how the air is thinner,
and fly with more affection.

rainer maria rilke, from duino elegies
translated by gary miranda

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