We die containing a richness
of lovers and tribes,
tastes we have swallowed,
bodies we have plunged into
and swum up as if rivers of wisdom,
characters we have climbed into as if trees,
fears we have hidden in as if caves.
I wish for all this
to be marked on my body
when I am dead.
I believe in such cartography -
to be marked by nature,
not just to label
ourselves on a map
like the names of rich men and women
on buildings.
We are communal histories, communal books.
We are not owned or monogamous in our taste or experience.
― Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient
(arranged quote)
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