OK, it's a bit hokey (and the image is a cliché) but I really like this poem, as it speaks to my creative methodology. A famous writer (I couldn’t remember which one - my friend Nicole confirmed it was E. L. Doctorow - thanks NFD) said that writing a book is like driving at night - you only see the bit of road in front of your headlights, but you can make the whole journey that way and arrive at your destination just fine. Perhaps one of you can remind me who said that?
Antonio Machado took it one step further, asserting that there is no road at all (nothing to discover) - just the path you make (something you design). Here we are again at the design/discover dichotomy. Anyway, it's a great poem, even in translation. Check it out.
Needless to say, I am writing in the dark, and can only see the bit of road illuminated by my text (the headlights). We will see if I get to the destination.
Traveler, your footprints
Translation MARY G. BERG AND DENNIS MALONEY
Traveler, your footprints
are the only road, nothing else.
Traveler, there is no road;
you make your own path as you walk.
As you walk, you make your own road,
and when you look back
you see the path
you will never travel again.
Traveler, there is no road;
only a ship's wake on the sea.
Photo copyright Vyacheslav Kantov
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