Poems of Rainer Maria Rilke (1918)/Moonlight Night

by Rainer Maria Rilke

MOONLIGHT NIGHT

 

South-German night! the ripe moon hangs above
Weaving enchantment o'er the shadowy lea.
From the old tower the hours fall heavily
Into the dark as though into the sea—
A rustle, a call of night-watch in the grove,
Then for a while void silence fills the air;
And then a violin (from God knows where)
Awakes and slowly sings: Oh Love . . . Oh Love . . .