Halfway along the road of life’s journey
I lost my way
I could see the hill
was cloaked with rays of sunshine
where no living person had passed before
a leopard
a lion
a she-wolf
a man/not a man/once a man/a poet
Virgil?
follow me
you will see and you will see and you will see
why should I go?
eternal suspense, so overcome with fear
turn back
bring consolation
It’s time for us to go
it calls for all the courage you have in you
soon it will be night, now is the time to leave this place
we have seen it all
we’ve passed the point
enter the hidden road through a small opening ahead
That Dante has survived shows a return was possible. He lived on as a great writer. But how did he do it? You know the path …
A poem by Leonard Cohen, published posthumously ( https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/09/24/drank-a-lot?mbid=social_tablet_e ), echoes Dante. The poem begins:
i drank a lot. i lost my job.
i lived like nothing mattered.
And it ends:
Disguised as one who lived in peace
I made it to the border
Though every atom of my heart
Was burning with desire.