Poem from Prisoner

May 13th, 2012

(From Carole Seligman)

Lynne sent this poem, which was sent by a prisoner at ADX Florence “as a reflection on the ‘exercise’ yard and other things!”
From the Paris Zoo — The Panther
By Rainer Maria Rilke (German)
His vision from the constantly passing bars,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold
anything else. It seems to him there are
a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world.
As he paces in cramped circles over and over,
the movement of his powerful strides
is like a ritual dance around a center
in which a mighty will stands paralyzed.
Only at Times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly — , an image enters in,
Rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles,
plunges into the heart and is gone.

Posted in BEHIND BARS | 1 Comment »
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