Caminante no hay camino by Antonio Machado (poem)

As a student of Spanish literature, I was first introduced to this poem "Caminante no hay Camino" by Antonio Machado (Seville, 1875-1939) in my graduate studies and it has stayed with me. In fact, it was read at Tim and my wedding! I'm sure I will think of this poem on my Camino journey because of the beautiful message it imparts: we each create our unique destinies and legacies one step at a time.




Caminante no hay Camino 
by Antonio Machado


Caminante, son tus huellas
el camino y nada más;
Caminante, no hay camino,
se hace camino al andar.
Al andar se hace el camino,
y al volver la vista atrás
se ve la senda que nunca
se ha de volver a pisar.
Caminante, no hay camino
sino estelas en la mar. 


-------------------


Traveler, your footprints
are the only way, nothing else.
Traveler, there is no way;
you make your way as you walk.
As you walk, you make your way,
and when you look back
you see the way
you will never travel again.
Traveler, there is no way;
only a ship's wake on the sea.




Modified from the translation by Mary G. Berg and Dennis Maloney
Source: 
http://www.favoritepoem.org/poem_CaminanteNoHayCamino.html



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