In Aymara they say the past
is not behind us but before,
it’s the future that’s obscured

This country’s one we know,
its peaks and troughs have been well trod,
we’ve walked them all our lives,

whereas the future’s yet
unseen, its contours strange to us,
continuous but obscured.

It’s hidden from view. Like drunks,
we stumble backwards tugging the veil
to find out where we’ve been.

A while back I read a fascinating article on the BBC website about the relationship between time and language and space. The way some invert our usual concept of the past being behind us and the future before us caught my attention.
(01.08.24)

© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Kaspars Eglitis on Unsplash