Rainer Maria Rilke God’s True Cloak

Rainer Maria Rilke God's True Cloak image of mist on lake
Nadia Colburn // May 11, 2020 // 0 Comments

Rainer Maria Rilke’s “God’s True Cloak” denounces the ways in which images and forms of hierarchy separate us from direct connection to God, spirit, and the world around us. He addresses the mist directly and suggests that we project worldly images onto the natural world around us, and that our very imagination and the forms of expression that we use, that are meant to reveal the world, instead hide the world and God’s true nature.

God’s True Cloak
Rainer Maria Rilke translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy

We must not portray you in king’s robes,
you drifting mist that brought forth the morning.

Once again from the old paintboxes
we take the same gold for scepter and crown
that has disguised you through the ages.

Piously we produce our images of you
till they stand around you like a thousand walls.
And when our hearts would simply open,
our fervent hands hide you.

From Book of Hours, I 4

Writing Prompts Inspired by God’s True Cloak

Try to write a poem directly to the mist or to a part of the natural world, showing it in its own terms.

Rainer Maria Rilke‘s God’s True Cloak is from his Book of Hours, a meditation on finding a path to and relationship with God. The name is taken from the medieval devotional books of that name, many of which were beautifully illustrated.

Please leave your comments below!

To read more morning poems, or poems of transition of any kind, come on over to my blog post with 15 great morning poems.

LEAVE A REPLY.   I love to hear from you and do my best to respond to all comments. 

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

Enjoyed this article?

Find more great content here:

15 Good Morning Poems to Start Your Day

15 Good Morning Poems to Start Your Day What better way to ...

Read More
This morning (for the girls of eastern high school)

In “this morning…” Lucille Clifton sees herself in the young girls she ...

Read More
Rumi The Breeze at Dawn

Rumi's "The Breeze at Dawn" reminds us to step into the day, ...

Read More
15 Good Morning Poems to Start Your Day

15 Good Morning Poems to Start Your Day What better way to ...

Read More
This morning (for the girls of eastern high school)

In “this morning…” Lucille Clifton sees herself in the young girls she ...

Read More
Rumi The Breeze at Dawn

Rumi's "The Breeze at Dawn" reminds us to step into the day, ...

Read More
This Morning I Pray for My Enemies

“This Morning I Pray for My Enemies” is a beautiful poem to ...

Read More