Thursday, April 26, 2012

The Esselen Hands - Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962)

Inside a cave in a narrow canyon near Tassajara.  The vault of rock is painted with hands, a multitude of hands in the twilight, a cloud of men's palms, no more, no other picture.  There's no one to say whether the brown shy quiet people who are dead intended Religion or magic, or made their tracings in the idleness of art; but over the division of years these careful sings - manual are now like a sealed message saying: "Look: we also were human; we had hands, not paws.  All hail you people with cleverer hands, our supplanters in the beautiful country: enjoy her a season, her beauty, and come down and be supplanted; for you are also human."

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