I cannot soften the world for you,
but I can teach you how to be hard.
I cannot warm the world for you,
but I can teach you how to be cold.
I cannot light the world for you,
but I can teach you that there is no such thing as darkness.
What we call night is only the shadow of the whole world.
And that shadow I would not take from you,
even if I could.
Keep a little fire burning, but
—sometimes—
keep it at your back,
so that you will not forget—
so that you may always know that shadow.