"Happiness, for you we walk on a knife edge. To the eyes you are a flickering light, to the feet, thin ice that cracks; and so may no one touch you who loves you"

This quote by Eugenio Montale talks to the fragility of joy. It is a tip that joy is a short lived feeling, which it can be easily lost. The quote suggests that joy resembles strolling on a knife edge, where one wrong move can trigger it to escape. It is also like a flickering light, which can be extinguished anytime. The thin ice that fractures below our feet is a metaphor for the instability of happiness. The quote is a cautioning to be careful with our joy, and to not let anyone who loves us touch it, as it can be easily broken. It is a tip to value and protect our joy, as it is a valuable and delicate thing.