a whole new self-possession

In his slenderness was the very bow,
near fully drawn, that no woman could break,
and sometimes, no longer shunning his brow,
an inclination of his face seemed to take

to someone passing by, whose manner
sealed a peculiar and ancient sign--
he smiled. He was no longer the whiner,
slinking off into darkness to pine.

And while a whole new self-possession
had consoled and almost spoiled him lately,
he earnestly bore the full gaze of women,
and they adored him and moved him greatly.

[Rainer Maria Rilke, 'Don Juan's Childhood', from Rilke: New Poems (Joseph Cadora, trans.)]