Midway along the journey of our life
I woke to find myself in a dark wood
For I had wandered off the straight path.
How hard it is to tell what it was like,
This wood of wilderness, savage and stubborn
The thought of it brings back all my old fears.
A bitter place! Death could scarce be bitterer.
But, if I would show the good that came of it
I must talk about the things other than the good.
Dante Alighieri
The Divine Comedy