The
steadfastness of generations of
nobility
shows in the curving lines that form the
eyebrows.
And the blue eyes still show traces of
childhood fears
and of
humility here and there, not of a servant's,
yet of one who serves
obediantly, and of a
woman.
The mouth formed as a mouth, large and accurate,
not given to long phrases, but to express
persuasively what is
right. The
forehead without
guile
and favoring the shadows of quiet
downward gazing.
This, as a coherent whole, only casually observed;
never as yet tried in suffering or succeeding,
held together for an enduring fulfillment,
yet so as if for times to come, out of these scattered things,
something serious and lasting were being planned.
--Rainer Maria Rilke