Already the ripening barberries are red: A memory
Rainer Maria Rilke
October is here, and while I am a few days later then I would have liked, a new month means it’s time for a new Memory, the side of Poetry & Process where we come together to memorize poetry. We conduct this practice to engrain words of meaning into our minds, bodies, and beings that will serve as a companion during our unique walks through life. While each life is unique, the situations we encounter and the emotions we face have been felt by many who have walked before us. Poems we know deeply can speak what we need to hear at the most opportune times.
For October, we turn our attention to a poem that speaks of the depths of autumn by a poet known for his lyricism and who found truth in art…
Already the ripening barberries are red by Rainer Maria Rilke
Spoken:
Text:
Already the ripening barberries are red, and the old asters hardly breathe in their beds. Those who are not rich now as summer goes will wait and wait and never be themselves. Those who cannot quietly close their eyes, certain that there is vision after vision inside, simply waiting until nighttime to rise all around them in the darkness-- it’s all over for them, they feel old and tired. Nothing else will come; no more days will open, and everything that does happen will cheat them. Even you, my God. And you are like a stone that draws them daily deeper into the depths.
The Poet:
If you are interested in Rilke’s biography, check out this summary on Poetry Foundation.
Chat:
This is the point in our memorization process where we move the conversation to a Thread in the Chat function in the SubStack app/website. The text of the poem is posted there for paid subscribers to read and come back to. Check in today and throughout the week to hear how others in this community are memorizing the poem, the impact it is having on their week, and to discuss the themes in the poem.
Make this experience your own, choosing how you approach the poem’s content, your memorization process, and connect with us in the chat!
I look forward to our conversation!
Brian
I was required to memorize poetry when I was a child, then did so later in my teens. It can be a wonderful comfort to say these to oneself and sometimes others. 🥰
I think Rilke really seems to capture the slow, unavoidable decline of both nature and humanity here. The “ripening barberries” and “old asters” indicate a world teetering on death, time pushing everything toward their end. Those who lack wealth, both materially and mentally, face an empty existence, endlessly waiting for something, someone that will never arrive.
I feel that the line, “quietly close their eyes” speaks to exhaustion of an existential nature. For we who live disconnected from our inner-self are seemingly hollow and without hope. Life, lie after lie, betrayal after betrayal - and this constant cycle pulls us deeper and deeper into despair, into a life with no meaning.
Haven’t read Rilke for a while - thanks! 🍁🧡🍁