…a stone, a leaf, an unfound door; of a stone, a leaf, a door. And
of all the forgotten faces.
Naked and alone we came into exile. In her dark womb we did not know
our mother's face; from the prison of her flesh have we come into the
unspeakable and incommunicable prison of this earth.
Which of us has known his brother? Which of us has looked into his
father's heart? Which of us has not remained forever prison-pent?
Which of us is not forever a stranger and alone?
O waste of loss, in the hot mazes, lost, among bright stars on this most
weary unbright cinder, lost! Remembering speechlessly we seek the great
forgotten language, the lost lane-end into heaven, a stone, a leaf, an
unfound door. Where? When?
O lost, and by the wind grieved, ghost, come back again.
-Thomas Wolfe
Look Homeward, Angel
Relentless Inquiry 
Leave a Reply