Readers who follow this blog may know that I love the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, the Austrian Bohemian poet and writer. Rilke’s poetry is mystical or spiritual, depending on your perspective, but that is only part of the story. What also draws me to Rilke is his ability to invoke exactly the right words and tonality that brings out the soulfulness of the human condition, all done with quiet intensity.  The following piece, appropriate for the dark times we are now in, demonstrates what I mean.