Widening Circles
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.
I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I’ve been circling for thousands of years
and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?
“Widening Circles” from Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God. Translation by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows, reprinted with permission.
This poem was originally read in the On Being episode “A Wild Love for the World.”