Selected Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke (1960)

I am generally not one to enjoy poetry. I rarely understand the depths of the words and intentions. But German poet Rainer Maria Wilke's writings have captivated me. I do not know his beliefs, his experiences, his motivations, or anything else that made him who he was. But when I read his words, my heart responds. Expect to hear more from him in the coming months.

What is required of us is that we love the difficult and learn to deal with it. In the difficult are the friendly forces, the hands that work on us. Right in the difficult we must have our joys, our happiness, our dreams: there against the depth of this background, they stand out, there for the first time we see how beautiful they are.

--Selected Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke (1960)

(I know this is not a poem, but if you read in the future, you will read some of Mr. Rilke's actual poems)