Lovers. . . . when you raise yourselves and press
your mouths together--drink upon drink:
strange how each of you drinks your way past the other.

But whenever we mean one thing, wholeheartedly,
another is right there, tugging on our feelings. Strife
is our closest companion. Don't lovers
constantly tread over each other's boundaries,
after mumbled vows about space, sustenance, and home?

Isn't it time to free ourselves, with love,
--from the one we love, and,
trembling, endure . . . ?
For to stay is to be nowhere at all.

Rainer Maria Rilke - from Duino Elegies