Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Walker, there is no road


We end the year with this bit of absurdity. Read it carefully and remember… there is no road:


Walker, your footsteps
are the road, and nothing more.
Walker, there is no road,
the road is made by walking.
Walking you make the road,
and turning to look behind
you see the path you never
again will step upon.
Walker, there is no road,
only foam trails on the sea.


By Antonio Machado, “Proverbs and Songs #29"
Translated by Willis Barnstone

Enjoy the holidays!
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 24, 2009 at 11:50 AM

    Here are two lines from the original (lines 3 and 4):

    Caminante, no hay camino,
    se hace camino al andar.

    What a brilliant way to sum up our sojourn in this world.

    My best wishes for the holidays and for the new year to you.

    You are a twinkling little star in cyberspace.

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. jonbemeJanuary 1, 2010 at 9:11 AM

    Very good and very true....especially liked the "turning to look behind
    you see the path you never
    again will step upon"...most people get stuck at this point for they are ever "looking behind" as if they can can re-do the footsteps...

    jonbeme

    ReplyDelete
  3. BureauCatMarch 20, 2012 at 10:53 PM

    The Spanish singer/songwriter Joan Manuel Surrat adapted the poem and sang it-- it hit the top of the popular charts and (as I understand it) it is still one of the all-time-most-popular songs in Spanish-seaking countries.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj-W6D2LSlo

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