The Panther

"Only at times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly-. An image enters in,
rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles,
plunges into the heart and is gone."

I enjoyed "The Panther" by Rainer Maria Rilke.  I felt like I understood it for the most part.  I thought it was about a panther in a cage at a zoo.  Panthers are usually respected for their stealth and power, but this panther is not. People are always staring at the panther.   In line 8, it says, "...a mighty will stands paralyzed."  This line is about being trapped and not having the will to escape.  The only way for the panther to escape imprisonment is through his dreams.  I think the quote above is talking about the panther's dreams and how they are very brief.  For brief periods of time, the panther feels like he has escaped through his dreams.