Woah!

Woah! Among the Guardian Angels, which would hear me

If I yelled? And supposing one suddenly approached me,

I'd likely fall for its so-much-brighter Being—

Such beauty's the intimation of an unbearable frisson—

Gawking gobsmacked, impressed despite myself

By its quaint restraint . . .

All angels are scary! So what's to depend on? People??

—Rilke, Duino Elegy No. 1

The canny animals, Rilke explains, can tell

We're not all that comfortable

In our tight-constructed world. How right

They are! It's all an act that we put on.

As the generations of angels

Are the generations of spiders, cats, and owls.

Οἵη περ φύλλων γενεὴ τοίη δὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν:

"As the generations of leaves are the generations of men."*

We can't leave yet. Not until the angel tells us when.

"Down, wanton, down!"**

*Homer, Iliad 6.146.

**Title of a poem by Robert Graves.

Note: Rilke epigraph re-imitated by PRD from his earlier version of Duino No. 1 (April 17, 2024).

Wednesday, July 30, 2025