Thank you, " I said bravely, dropping the syllables cleanly, like marbles, and secretly full of the most pathetic pride imaginable. I had spoken to strangers.

I have a sort of . . . thing, I suppose, for certain words. They spark inside me, somehow, turning me to touchpaper, but I don't know what they are until someone says them.

I thought of Marius. Wild, wonderful, Byronic-fantasy Marius, who had somehow found something he wanted in the everyday quietness of me. Until he hadn't.

In daylight and up close, he was merciless, all smiles and freckles, the brightest, boldest flame a moth could wish for.

His attention. Sweet and intense at the same time. Like a barley sugar I could untwist from its plastic and hold in my mouth. A flood of secret pleasure.

This is the story of my life: standing on the edges of things and worrying, when I'm supposed to just walk through them.

I'm not trying to upset you. I just think it's about time you move

I had a dream about you last night. Eons ago, we created a Universe, then sat back and watched miniature versions of ourselves try to make all the same mistakes we did.

If, if more stimulus means more tax cuts to small businesses, if, if more stimulus means middle class tax cuts, then I'm for it.

We cant compare stories. We can only know in our hearts that we are the same. That may be the best we can do.

Nothing in this life worth achieving is easy, nor is it impossible.

With God, what is terrible is that one never knows whether it's not just a trick of the devil.

I ran very fast in the wrong direction.

The act of making poetry is an act of hope.

One of life's regrets is that you didn't always tell the truth, and now it's too late, because the truth has changed.

I'm just writing what I know. I've never been much of a reader of fantasy, and I think you write what you, personally, enjoy reading.

If you have breakouts, it can be really healing, it's a little bit stinky, but if you're not sleeping over at your boyfriend's, it's really effective