I am a plant, she said, I need fire, earth, water. Otherwise I will be stunted. And: Is marriage not such a stunting? The fire goes out. The wind grows weak. The earth dries out. The water dwindles. I would die. You too. She tossed her hair over her ...
(about William Blake) As for Blake's happiness--a man who knew him said: "If asked whether I ever knew among the intellectual, a happy man, Blake would be the only one who would immediately occur to me." And yet this creative power in Blake did not c...
Oh God, midnight’s not bad, you wake and go back to sleep, one or two’s not bad, you toss but sleep again. Five or six in the morning, there’s hope, for dawn’s just under the horizon. But three, now, Christ, three A.M.! Doctors say the body�...
...He kissed me again, farther up my neck, and I pushed him back against the wall. My mind searched for the logical thought, a rational life raft before I drowned in wanting to hiss him. I managed, "We've only met a few days ago. We don't know each o...
I thought all I had to do to get you back was kill off your so-called mother and that little girl. No, I also pondered eating you alive. I imagined drinking all your blood and swallowing you whole many times. A thousand times...no, a million times ov...
You once told me you could stand many things.” My voice was raspy from all the emotions battering against those well-honed inner defenses. “So can I. I can stand whatever Apollyon dishes out, can take the bigotry from others over what I am, the f...
It is Jesus that The Proverbs 31 Lady seeks when she dreams of happiness; He is waiting for her when nothing else she finds satisfies her; He is the beauty to which she is so attracted to; it is He who provoked her with that thirst for fullness that ...
Why did I allow the abuse to continue? Even as a teenager? I didn’t. Something that had been plaguing me for years now made sense. It was like the answer to a terrible secret. The thing is, it wasn’t me in my bed, it was Shirley who lay the wonde...
You didn't think I really liked you? Do you think I really like you now?" He turned toward her, uncertainty in his face."You did go quite a lot of effort to be having this conversation, but... I don't want to read too much of what I hope into that." ...
Can I be honest with you, Mr. Wind-Up Bird? I mean, really, really, really honest? Sometimes I get sooo scared! I’ll wake up in the middle of the night all alone, hundreds of miles away from anybody, and it’s pitch dark, and I have absolutely no ...
But why must the system go to such lengths to block our empathy? Why all the psychological acrobatics? The answer is simple: because we care about animals, and we don't want them to suffer. And because we eat them. Our values and behaviors are incong...
All they told me was that he was forty-two when he died. I just wanted...to find out more about what kind of person he was. I could tell you more, amanda thought to herself. A lot more. She'd suspected the truth since Morgan Tanner had called, and sh...
Lt. Escobar: You must really think I'm stupid, don't you Gittes. Jake Gittes: I don't think about it that much but, gimme a day or two and I'll get back to yuh. Now I'd like to go home. Lt. Escobar: I want the other pictures, Gittes. Jake Gittes: Wha...
David Kleinfeld: [watching an Italian man dancing with Gail] You're gonna let this fuckin' goombah paw your woman like that? Carlito: Hey, they're just dancin'. Don't you appreciate that? The movement. The rhythm. What I don't appreciate is he's got ...
Brian Taylor: Touch me and I will fucking shoot you. Stay where you are. Mr. Tre: I don't give a fuck about both you motherfuckers. I'm ready to die today. Fuck ya'll. Brian Taylor: This can go one of several ways right now. It is all about your atti...
[Ken drives at Otto with a steamroller. Otto laughs, until he realizes his feet are trapped in cement, and his gun is empty] Otto: Ken! Ken! Wait, wait, Ken! Kenny! I... may I call you Kenny? Ken: Remember Wanda! Otto: I got the deal of a lifetime! F...
Hyman Roth: There was this kid I grew up with; he was younger than me. Sorta looked up to me, you know. We did our first work together, worked our way out of the street. Things were good, we made the most of it. During Prohibition, we ran molasses in...
Proximo: Congratulations, you have very persuasive friends. Lucilla: My brother's had Gracchus arrested. We daren't wait any longer. We must leave tonight. Proximo will be here t midnight and take you to the gate. Your servant, Cicero will be waiting...
Rebecca: Oh! It's that comedian I was telling you about. [she turns up the volume on her television, which is showing an odd-looking man performing stand-up comedy] Rebecca: See this bit, it's the absolute worst. Joey McCobb, the Stand Up Comic: [on ...
[Bilbo attempts to sneak out of the cave while the company sleeps but is stopped by Bofur] Bofur: Where do you think you're going? Bilbo Baggins: Back to Rivendell. Bofur: No. No. You can't turn back now. You're part of the company. You're one of us....
Melissa: Why would you go to Las Vegas? Stu Price: 'Cause my best friend was getting married, and that's what guys do. Melissa: That's not what *you* do. Stu Price: Really? Well, then why did I do it? Huh? 'Cause I did it! Riddle me that! Why'd I do ...
