Rainer Maria Rilke
The Panther
In the Jardin des Plantes, Paris
Stanza I, Line 1:
His gaze, from sweeping by the bars, has worn
From seeing the bars, his seeing is so exhausted
His sight, from glancing back and forth across the bars
His sight from ever gazing through the bars
His vision from the passing of the bars
The bars have sucked his glance so dry of raging,
Stanza I, Line 2:
so thin, there's nothing more that it can hold.
that it no longer holds anything anymore.
Has grown so weary it catches nothing more.
has grown so blunt that it sees nothing more.
is grown so weary that it holds no more.
So wearied it with their recurrent wall,
Stanza I, Line 3:
To him there seem to be a thousand bars
To him the world is bars, a hundred thousand
It is to him as if there were a thousand bars,
It seems to him that thousands of bars are
To him it seems there are a thousand bars
That he sees from his unassuaging caging
2
Rilke:
THE PANTHER
Stanza I, Line 4
and then back of the thousand bars no world.
bars, and behind the bars, nothing.
Beyond those thousand bars no world.
before him, and behind them nothing merely.
and behind a thousand bars no world.
But for these thousand bars no world at all.
Stanza II, Line 1
The strong, the supple steps, the pacing gently,
The lithe swinging of that rhythmical easy stride
The soft gait of supply-strong strides
The easy motion of his supple stride,
The padding gait of flexibly strong strides
The soft rhythm of that flexible strong pacing
Stanza II, Line 2
the turning in the very smallest circle,
which circles down to the tiniest hub
That turns about the very smallest circle
which turns about the very smallest circle,
that in the very smallest circle turns,
To an infinitesimal circle tied
3
Stanza II, Line 3
is like a dance of force around a center
is like a dance of energy around a point
Is like a dance of power about a center
is like a dance of strength about a center
is like a dance of strength around a center
Is as a dance about a center racing
Stanza II, Line 4
in which a great will, stupefied, holds still.
in which a great will stands stunned and numb.
In which, benumbed, a great will stands.
in which a mighty will stands stupefied.
in which stupefied a great will stands.
At whicha mighty will stands petrified.
Stanza III, Line 1
Only at times the eyeball's curtain slides
Only at times the curtains of the pupil rise
Yet--sometimes--the shade over the pupil
Only sometimes when the pupil's film
Only sometimes the curtain of the pupil
Only from time to time the pupil's curtain
4
Stanza III, Line 2
up noiselessly--.
An image goes in then,
without a sound. . . then a shape enters,
Slides soundlessly up--.
An image enters,
soundlessly opens. . .then one image fill
soundlessly parts--.
Is lifted.
Then an image enters,
Then an image silently,
Stanza III, Line 3
goes through the stillness of the limbs drawn tight-slips through the tightened silence of the shoulders,
Travels the tense stillness of his limbs,
and glides through the quiet tension of the limbs
goes through the tensioned stillness of the limbs-Glides through the tension of those limbs uncertain
Stanza II, Line 4
and in the heart comes to an end.
reaches the heart, and dies.
Then ceases in the heart to be.
into the heart and ceases and is still.
and in the heart ceases to be.
And ceases in the heart to be.