Childish Haste

Back in New York after a week or so on different streets and roads, I am reintegrating myself into the haste that is the city's normal operating condition--or mine when I am in it. Let's conclude our mini-series, Hurry Up and Wait, with one of Kafka's Zürau Aphorisms (#39a). These were written during the eight months in 1917-18 he spent at his sister Ottla's house in the west Bohemian countryside, after the onset of tuberculosis symptoms. (For more on the aphorisms, see Michael Cisco's blog.)

The road is endless, there are no shortcuts
and no detours, and yet everyone brings to it
his own childish haste. "You must walk this
ell of ground, too, you won't be spared it."

(tr. Michael Hoffmann)

Rte. 23 between Socaire and San Pedro di Atacama, Chile