When at noon the white fire of verses ( Read more... )

My brain was the instrument of my success and my pride, but it also carried all the tools for my destruction.
Elyn R. Saks, The Center Cannot HoldYou called it 'kamikaze', but isn't it something less glorious? A strong, powerful, beautifully crafted engine is sabotaged by its skilled technician, who cuts cables, unfastens screws, pollutes the fuel ( Read more... )

I knew my way in the darkness or in the light.
Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle

You scared me, he said

I study my hands
Should I smile or cringe, hearing it again
A curse, a blessing, how should I know
I live with it all my life
You feel spellbound
But all I do is being me

In all honesty


( Read more... )

Was she blinded by something she couldn't see, or blinded by seeing something she couldn't bear to look at? She was too tired to work anything out.
Edward St Aubyn, Mother's Milk

The calm amusement that comes with awareness.

Laugh about it, shout about it
When you’ve got to choose
Every way you look at it you lose.
Simon & Garfunkel, Mrs. ( Read more... )

Don't let me go and let me go

Click to view

I have a cold mind and a warm heart, whereas most people have cold, troubled hearts and warm, muggy minds, which they mistake for sincere feelings.
Alice B. Sheldon 1952As I began to see how deeply destructive you are, how desperate your restless mind still throws itself against prison walls, how much anger is buried inside you - I began to ( Read more... )

I am not at all the sort of person you and I took me for.
Jane Baillie Welsh, Letter to Thomas Carlyle, 7 May 1822


( Read more... )

Don't confuse
the pain of loss
with love
like you always do


( Read more... )

Such a strange calmness
Serenity
Maybe exhaustion
The composure one gets
In view of an insurmountable
Ice shelf
How often did I face it
Tired but confident


( Read more... )

The mere word 'freedom' is the only one that still excites me. [...] Among all the many misfortunes to which we are heir, it is only fair to admit that we are allowed the greatest degree of freedom of thought. [...] Imagination alone offers me some intimation of what can be, and this is enough to devote myself to it without fear of making a mistake ( Read more... )