A man sets out to draw the world. As the years go by, he peoples a space with images of provinces, kingdoms, mountains, bays, ships, islands, fishes, rooms, instruments, stars, horses, and individuals. A short time before he dies, he discovers that the patient labyrinth of lines traces the lineaments of his own face.
“Man’s love follows many faces,
My love only one face knoweth;
Towards thee only my love floweth,
And outstrips the swift stream’s paces.
Were this love well here displayed,
As flame flameth ‘neath thin jade
Love should glow through these my phrases.”
Ezra Pound | “Canzon: To Be Sung Beneath a Window”