I am a writer.
And my faith in the world of art is intense.
But not irrational, nor naïve.
Because art takes us – and makes us take-
A journey beyond price
Beyond costs
Into bearing witness to the world as it is, and as it should be.
Art invites us to know beauty, and to solicit it, summon it,
from even the most tragic of circumstances.
Art reminds us that We Belong Here.
And if we serve -- We Last.
My faith in art rivals my admiration for any other discourse.
Its conversation with the public, and among its various genres
Is critical to understanding
what it means to care deeply
And to be human completely
 I believe.

-Toni Morrison
Vanderbilt University Senior Day Chancellor’s Medal Address
May 9, 2013

"And if we serve-- we last. And if we serve-- we last. And if we serve--- somehow, we last."

All I got from her is that hope must be an intoxicating and resilient condition of the soul. Imbued, rendered tenderly, yet fiercely determined.