William Rivers Pitt | To Know the Darkness and the Light
Robin Williams, during a tour of 30 cities, backstage before his performance at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va., Oct. 26, 2009. Williams, an Oscar-winning actor and comedian, was found unconscious at home around noon on Aug. 11, 2014. (Photo: Jay Paul / The New York Times)
Ye must welcome the phantoms that scream through the night
Take heed to the visions and presences bright
Lest ye waste up your life with the weight of street
In fear of the banshees ye'd happen to meet...
- "Jo'rneyman's Song," Barleyjuice
I know about the darkness. I have seen it, smelled it, tasted it. I have felt it invade me through my pores, had it envelop and encompass every river and sea and valley of me. I have been staggered as it conquers and pillages me, I have choked on the soot of its burning, and I have wept tears of ash as the hoofbeats of its raiders tear my soil and thunder up the road to batter down my gates.






