Poem: Letter to a Young Poet
"There is a source inside each of us which springs eternal"
This poem’s title is obviously inspired by Rilke’s brilliant Letters to a Young Poet.
Letter to a Young Poet
There will be times when you feel so lonely
that you will take a shower just to feel
the silky, comforting embrace of warm water,
as it washes away all that has led you
to this place, bereft, the puddles collecting at your feet
like tears. Purification
runs deeper than just the skin.
There is a source inside each of us
which springs eternal, generative and necessary
as a river, offering up its insatiable
prayer, its dancing question.
When everything and everyone is gone from you
and you are left standing
with your arms open, waiting for instruction,
you will still have this mystery, you can hold
it in your palm and feel its shape,
its fragile density, like glass.
My dear one, I don’t know when or how
but someday there will be an end
to your suffering, you will wake up
and feel that your life is worth living,
you can step out into the harsh light of day
and know that you are alive.
Until then, all I can tell you
is: Hold on. Hold on.
I often think of this —
“The cure for anything is salt water - tears, sweat, or the sea.” (Isak Dinesen)
And I love this new image, too, that we are river. Thank you.