 The album is also heavily inspired by the works of Czesław Miłosz.This is especially evident in songs like "The Unattainable Earth" (which was named after one of Miłosz' books), "Safety Net", "Pictures of the Gone World", "Divine Instant", and "Half Light, Epoch, and Phase".On Taylor's 1998 release, "John Wayne", he credits more influences; Flannery O'Connor, Dennis Prager and Frederick Buechner.