And Feet Must Tread
Lead me not. Where I would go will have more meaning
if on my own I brave that shore; would rather,
like Columbus, who seeking silk encountered gold,
swivel through coves of umbrageous mist.
So do not be my travelogue. For words these tomes
disclose are too abstract, too teemed with vagaries,
for eyes to see or feel the depth of what is real.
For a complex synapse: an aggregate of facts,
a gathering of towns, of denizens and deeds;
And feet must tread old cobblestones,
wander ancient twisted streets until they ache,
before one can wholly appreciate the rise of empires
and their fate. Uncertainty is prerequisite to surprise.
Bedazzled comprehension is the prize.