Sunset

Our discussion in class of Soledades really made me think of a specific moment of the summer I spent in Toledo, Spain. There was really no way to explain this in class without sounding ridiculous or "oh, look at me, I studied abroad"... so I figured I'd post about it this week, with hopefully some more explanation.

There were a few rooms in the residence I stayed in that overlooked the city. Not anything extravagant, of course, but you could see a lot of the buildings from the bedrooms, and from the bathrooms, the cathedral. You could hear the bells from the cathedral in most of the rooms, but at sunset, for some reason, they were incredibly resonant.

There was one night that I leaned on the windowsill and watched the sun set over the city, and watched the city silhouettes fade to black. This is the feeling I got from Soledades. The feeling is ethereal... you almost want to grab it in your hands before it escapes... like sand falling through your fingers.

Machado's poem still resonates with readers today... even if not in the original context.

I wonder what other modern literature will still be relevant/poignant a century from now (2110, for anyone playing along at home)?