dark times

Years ago, I read Leon Uris's Mila 18, about one of the darkest periods in human history - a book about war, terror, depravity and triumph. There's a scene early in the book when one of the main characters pulls this book of poetry off his shelf and reads from it, seeking a kind of consolation. I remember that more clearly than anything else in the book, although, when I look for it, I can't find it. That's OK. The idea of it is probably better than the text.