I spent the entire night leading a blind man
\nthrough an immense museum
\nso that (by internal bridges, or tunnels?
\nsomehow!) he could avoid the streets,
\nthe most dangerous avenues, all the swift
\nchaotic traffic . . .\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I persuaded him
\nto allow my guidance, through to the other
\ndistant doors, though once inside, labyrinthine corridors,
\nsteps, jutting chests and chairs and stone arches
\nbewildered him as I named them at each swerve,
\nand were hard for me to manoeuver him
\naround and between.\u00a0 As he could perceive nothing,
\nI too saw only the obstacles, the objects
\nwith sharp corners; not one painting, not one carved
\ncredenza or limestone martyr.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We did at last
\nemerge, however, into that part of the city
\nhe had been headed for when I took over;
\nhe raised his hat in farewell, and went on, uphill,
\ntapping his stick.\u00a0 I stood looking after him,
\nwatching as the street enfolded him, wondering
\nif he would make it, and after I woke, wondering still
\nwhat in me he was, and who
\nthe I was that took the long short-cut with him
\nthrough room after room of beauty his blindness
\nhid from me as if it had never been.<\/p>\n
Denise Levertov\u00a0\u00a0 Sands of the Well \u00a0(1996)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI too saw only the obstacles\u201d Today\u2019s post\u00a0took shape last evening while talking with a soul friend who is spending this week at home, in stillness, tasting her life in its present moment. \u00a0Something in our conversation reminded me of … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/170\/2020\/07\/Blind-Museum-1.jpg\")
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