The World

A man from the town of Neguá, on the coast of

Colombia, could climb into the sky.

On his return, he described his trip. He told how

he had contemplated human life from up high.

He said that we are a sea of tiny flames.

“The world,” he revealed, “is a huge mass of

people, a sea of tiny flames.”

Each person shines with his or her own light.

No two flames are alike. There are big flames

and little flames, flames of every color. Some

people’s flames are so serene they don’t even

flicker in the wind, while others have wild flames

that fill the air with sparks. Some foolish flames

neither burn nor shed light, but others blaze

with life so fiercely that you just can’t look

at them without blinking and if you approach,

you will shine in fire.

Short story from The Book of Embraces

by Eduardo Galeano.