(To the younger brother)
Now pray,
as I who came back from the same confusion
learned to pray.
I returned to paint upon the altars
those old holy forms,
but they shone differently,
fierce in their beauty.
So now my prayer is this:
You, my own deep soul,
trust me. I will not betray you.
My blood is alive with many voices
telling me I am made of longing.
What mystery breaks over me now?
In its shadow I come to life.
For the first time I am alone with you-
you, my power to feel.
” —Book of Hours, Rainer Maria Rilke