“They more adeptly bend the willow's branches
who have experience of the willow's roots.”

— Rainer Maria Rilke , book Sonnets to Orpheus

Sonnet 6 (as translated by Edward Snow)
Sonnets to Orpheus (1922)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 29, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "They more adeptly bend the willow's branches who have experience of the willow's roots." by Rainer Maria Rilke?

Rainer Maria Rilke 176

Austrian poet and writer 1875–1926

Related quotes

“All a green willow, willow,
All a green willow is my garland.”

John Heywood (1497–1580) English writer known for plays, poems and a collection of proverbs

The Green Willow; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).

“The cold north wind which bows to earth
The lightness of the willow's birth
Bends not the mountain cedar trees;
Folding their branches from the breeze,
They stand as if they could defy
The utmost rage of storm and sky.”

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist

Canto I
The Troubadour (1825)

“The word witch is related to the root of the word "willow," a very flexible tree.”

Starhawk (1951) American author, activist and Neopagan

Bodhi Tree lecture (1999)
Context: The word witch is related to the root of the word "willow," a very flexible tree. Since ancient times witches have been known as those who can bend or shape fate. We twist the energies. The idea of witch became synonymous with wise woman, and with others who were herbalists and healers and keepers of the old traditions after the advent of Christianity. We were the ones who really knew the land and knew what grew there, and how to use it.

“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.”

Bruce Lee (1940–1973) Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist, philosopher and filmmaker

“My heart is like the willow
That bends, but never breaks.
It sighs when summer jilts her,
It sings when April wakes.”

Yip Harburg (1896–1981) American song lyricist

"Irreverent Heart"
Rhymes for the Irreverent (1965)
Context: My heart is like the willow
That bends, but never breaks.
It sighs when summer jilts her,
It sings when April wakes. So you, who come a-smiling
With summer in your eyes,
Think not that your beguiling
Will take me by surprise. My heart's prepared for aching
The moment you take wing.
But not, my friend, for breaking
While there's another spring.