the
Pole: "Taking
its bearings by the heavenly pole as the threshold of the world
beyond means that this presence then allows a world other than
that of geological, physical, astronomical space to open before
it." Henri Corbin, The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism.
Shambhala: Boulder, CO, 1978.
no
directions: "They
recognize the Great Dipper as a herd of reindeer; the three triangular
stars of Cassiopeia are the three stone supporting a celestial
stone lamp; the Pleiades are a team of dogs in pursuit
of a bear; the three glittering brilliants of the belt of Orion
are step cut by some celestial Eskimo in a steep
snowbank to enable him to climb to the top; Gemini are two stones
in the entrance of an igloo; Arcturus and Aldebaran are personifications;
and the moon and the sun are a maiden and her pursuing lover." R.E.
Peary, Northward over the "Great Ice": A Narrative
of Life and Work Along the Stores and Upon the
Interior Ice-cap of Northern Greenland in the Years 1886 and
1891-97.
2 vols. London, Metheun and Co., 1898.
but
heaps of stone:
Looking
up
rough and steep—
what force
the trees look like works of magic
and all of the stones
are possessed of powers.
M. Soseki. From, "Strange Peak."
I am not human:
I
said to you,
I am not human
And you
looked at me
and said, no
perhaps you
are not
G. Sonnevi. From, "I said to you."