Litania

“This is not to say that joy is a compensation for loss, but that each of them, joy and loss, exists in its own right and must be recognised for what it is... So joy can be joy and sorrow can be sorrow, with neither of them casting either light or shadow on the other.”
― Marilynne Robinson, Lila

“I hated the mountains and the hills, the rivers and the rain. I hated the sunsets of whatever colour, I hated its beauty and its magic and the secret I would never know. I hated its indifference and the cruelty which was part of its loveliness. Above all I hated her. For she belonged to the magic and the loveliness. She had left me thirsty and all my life would be thirst and longing for what I had lost before I found it.”
― Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea

“He showed me his scars, and in return he let me pretend that I had none.”
― Madeline Miller, Circe

“What’s up?” “I don’t know,” said Marvin, “I’ve never been there.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy