the “axel-tree” Yggdrasil, upon which the world turns
At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.
— from “Burnt Norton,” Four Quartets, T.S. Eliot
audio recording of Eliot reading* full text
Thomas Stearns ('T.S.') Eliot with anonymous female relatives, his nameless sister and cousin. Photo credit: Lady Ottoline Morrell*. (She refused to be anonymous.)