“diligent little ships sail
in search of new spices”

This couplet is from Zbigniew Herbert’s poem, “Mr. Cogito on Magic.” (Mr. Cogito, 1974) Herbert is new to this reader, and the Mr. Cogito suite is something of a revelation. Of course, there are no “new spices” to be found, and no little ships to sail, but I really like Herbert’s image—one of a mixed bag—for the fantastic magic of imagination. What if we would permit ourselves to board diligent little ships that sail in search of new lands where unknown spices wait to be discovered? Our voyage might yield a kind of big or little magic, right?