“No state is so natural to the human condition as that of longing,” he declared, strolling to the right side of the stage. “When we are hungry, we long for food—and as soon as we are sated, we think wistfully of our next meal. Poetry, theater, and song exist because of longing—our myths and stories are full of separated lovers, ambition-crazed kings, and nobly striving heroes. Longing ignites the poetry in our souls like nothing else—not love, not Nature, not domestic tranquility. Many of you are here tonight because you long for something, though you may not know what it is.”
