"L'absence diminue les médiocres passions, et augmente les grandes, comme le vent éteint les bougies et allume le feu." La Rochefoucauld, Maximes.
According to La Rochefoucauld, absence extinguishes weak passions but ignites true great ones, just like the wind blows out a candle but spreads a fire.
To that I should add: Without words, passion cannot grow, no matter how strong it is.
With Rimbaud as my muse, this is my poetic version of Silence:
Des mots, j'en ai besoin pour vivre.
Ton silence a réduit en cendres
Ce feu doux qui brûlait en moi.
Words, words, words,
I need them
As I need
Air to breathe.
Your silence
Burns to ashes
The fire in me.
