The Darkening Fig
after Rainer Maria Rilke
In the stillness of the abandoned garden the fig tree stands as a sentinel of darkness its branches like withered fingers reaching toward the fading light that clings to the horizon
the leaves a deep rich green that seems to absorb the little light that filters through the latticework of vines and crumbling stone that surrounds it
in this quiet hour the tree appears to be absorbing the darkness that seeps from the earth its roots delving deep into the mystery that lies beneath the surface of things
I took the theme of exploring the beauty of decay and the longing for transcendence from Rilke's poetry, and applied it to a modest subject, a fig tree, using his characteristic long and sinuous lines, formal diction, and sudden leaps from the particular to the universal. The idea of darkness and the unknown is also reminiscent of Rilke's work.