We've got another thing coming undone
and it's taking us over
and it's taking forever
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You, God, who live next door -
If at times, thought the long night, I trouble you
with my urgent knocking -
this is why: I hear you breathe so seldom.
I know you're all alone in that room.
If you should be thirsty, there's no one
to get you a glass of water.
I wait listening, always. Just give me a sign!
I'm right here.
As it happens, the wall between us
is very thin. Why couldn't a cry
from one of us
break it down? It would crumble
easily,
it would barely make a sound.
-Rilke
I keep encountering the idea of waiting. I think of Rilke, David Rosenberg's translation of the Psalms, and Waiting for Godot, which wrenched my heart (and bored my students) the first time I read it this past year.
I wait listening, always.
Just makes me think of those brothers. I skimmed Waiting for Godot again and there are several lines I'd love to share, but that gets tiresome if you haven't read the play. Maybe this is presumptuous of me, but I think the the following exchange illustrates simply the universal affliction of a hope deferred.
Vladimir: A—. What are you insinuating? That we've come to the wrong place?
Estragon: He should be here. Vladimir: He didn't say for sure he'd come. Estragon: And if he doesn't come? Vladimir: We'll come back tomorrow. Estragon: And then the day after tomorrow. Vladimir Possibly. Estragon: And so on. Vladimir: The point is— Estragon: Until he comes.
with my urgent knocking -
this is why: I hear you breathe so seldom.
I know you're all alone in that room.
If you should be thirsty, there's no one
to get you a glass of water.
I wait listening, always. Just give me a sign!
I'm right here.
As it happens, the wall between us
is very thin. Why couldn't a cry
from one of us
break it down? It would crumble
easily,
it would barely make a sound.
-Rilke
I keep encountering the idea of waiting. I think of Rilke, David Rosenberg's translation of the Psalms, and Waiting for Godot, which wrenched my heart (and bored my students) the first time I read it this past year.
I wait listening, always.
Just makes me think of those brothers. I skimmed Waiting for Godot again and there are several lines I'd love to share, but that gets tiresome if you haven't read the play. Maybe this is presumptuous of me, but I think the the following exchange illustrates simply the universal affliction of a hope deferred.
Vladimir: A—. What are you insinuating? That we've come to the wrong place?
1 comment:
Hey Hallie, this is Paul Burkhart. I recently sent you a Facebook friend request.
Long story short, I was looking for someone else named Hallie on Facebook and because of a mutual friend we have, your name came up to the top of the results list. On your profile, I saw that you work at a Christian School in Pennsylvania. Some people at my church and I are in the early stages of starting a Christian Classical School in Philly and so through a series of google searches looking for your particular "Covenant Christian Academy", I ended up finding both your school's site and this blog.
I was trying to connect with you on Facebook so I could message you and thank you for this blog. I spent a while reading through several of the posts, and they were so encouraging and helpful. I even pulled my copy of "Letters to a Young Poet" off of the shelf to start reading through that.
And so, if you're up for some more questions about Christian education, Rilke, and such, feel free to confirm my friend request. But either way, thanks for writing, and I look forward to any more posts you're able to put up in the future.
--paul
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