It is a rose planted in your heart, and as it's thorns tear you, so does it thrive and flower

I catch a flash of red-gold beneath the surface of the water, and realize that there are koi in the pond, massive, serene, and I wonder: are they dreams of fish, or fish who dream?

The dead person is not truly dead until the last person who rememebers them dies.

I gave up on cussing - I'd run out of words filthy enough - and just started praying.

What makes a story a story is that something changes. Internal, external, small or large, trivial or of earth-shattering importance. Doesn't matter.

The fountain of youth is like the monkeys paw in the W. W. Jacobs story. It never ends well.

'So what happens next?' 'Everybody dies, and the people who don't get married.' 'Like any other story, then.'

Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome.

The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.

But music is, at the very minimum, inflammatory, exclusionary, divisive, encouraging of snobbery and solipsism.

One must pass through the circumference of time before arriving at the center of opportunity.

I don't want to be bulky and stiff.

I'd rather sing a sad song than eat.

Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? In heaven's name,Catiline, how long will you abuse ourpatience?

It’s not important to develop your own style but your own approach.

Professor Eric Zolt of UCLA, said to me, "The VAT is such a good idea, mark my words, within five years, the U.S. will have a VAT." Then he said, "Of course, I've been saying that for 20 years."

The greatest grossness sometimes accompanies the greatest refinement, as a natural relief.