It's hard to kill a hydra without a flaming sword.

Answer my call, Dark Spear.

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
-- If, Rudyard Kipling

My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But {ah, my foes}, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light.
-- Figs from Thistles: First Fig, Edna St. Vincent Millay