The Medieval Coast by Michael Ondaatje

A village of stone-cutters. A village of soothsayers.
Men who burrow into the earth in search of gems.

Circus in-laws who pyramid themselves into trees.

Home life. A fear of distance along the southern coast.

Every stone-cutter has his secret mark, angle of his chisel.

In the village of soothsayers
bones of a familiar animal
guide interpretations.

This wisdom extends no more than thirty miles.

~ from Handwriting (McClelland & Stewart, 1998)