"Beneath our anxious quickenings, beneath our fanged fears, beneath the rusted armors of conviction, tenderness is what we long for -- tenderness to salve our bruising contact with reality, to warm us awake from the frozen stupor of near-living. Tenderness is what permeates Platero and I (public library) by the Nobel-winning Spanish poet Juan Ramon Jimenez (December 23, 1881-May 29, 1958) -- part love letter to his beloved donkey, part journal of ecstatic delight in nature and humanity, part fairy tale for the lonely." Maria Popova shares more from the Nobel-winning Spanish poet...
