Why is desire so insatiable? Why shouldn’t it suffice to hear the words “I love you” spoken as a mere statement of fact?

मनुजस्स पमत्तचरिनो तन्हा वधाति मालुवा विया सो पलावती हुराहुरम् फलं-इच्चं वा वनस्मि वानारो Dem Achtlosen ranken Begierden hinein, wie Schlingpflanzen, die einen fassen; von Geburt zu Geburt streift er umher, wie ein Affe nach Waldgenüssen.

Once, in early January, I decided I needed to escape from the city for a while so I went out to the easternmost point of Long Island. I ended up on an abandoned stretch of beach...