Don’t ask me for words that might
define our formless soul, publish it
in letters of fire, and set it shining,
lost crocus in a dusty field….
…Don’t ask me for formulas to open worlds
for you: all I have are gnarled syllables,
branch-dry. All I can tell you now is this:
what we are not, what we do not want.
(Eugenio Montale)