Memories of a Childhood
Memories of a Childhood - context Summary
Written in 1902
Written and published in 1902 in Das Buch der Bilder, Rilke's "Memories of a Childhood" is a reflective piece that revisits a domestic, evening scene of mother and child. The poem frames memory through quiet sensory detail—darkness, a tinkle, a piano—and focuses on the intimate, ambivalent bond with the maternal figure. It echoes Rilke’s recurring preoccupations with childhood recollection and the emotional textures of family life.
Read Complete AnalysesThe darkness hung like richness in the room When like a dream the mother entered there And then a glass's tinkle stirred the air Near where a boy sat in the silent gloom. The room betrayed the mother—so she felt— She kissed her boy and questioned "Are you here?" And with a gesture that he held most dear Down for a moment by his side she knelt. Toward the piano they both shyly glanced For she would sing to him on many a night, And the child seated in the fading light Would listen strangely as if half entranced, His large eyes fastened with a quiet glow Upon the hand which by her ring seemed bent And slowly wandering o'er the white keys went Moving as though against a drift of snow.
Translated by Jessie Lamont
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