Antonio Machado has always been one of my favorites. He’s a poet that embodies much of what Spain is, in my experience. If you are taking a trip anytime soon, be sure and visit El Escorial, which, in part, is an enormous hunting palace.
It can be a dry, lonely, land, where a clear-eyed melancholy and fortitude prevail. Spain, of course, has deep stoic roots. Here are a few lines that have stayed with me.
El ojo que ves no es
ojo porque tú lo veas;
es ojo porque te ve.
The eye you see is not
An eye because you see it
It’s an eye because it sees you.
