Merry Christmas, I whisper to myself. Merry Christmas, Nate.

And at that moment, a lilting melody lifts to the moon as a single sparrow sings.

The birch trees loom ahead like a brotherhood of ghosts.

Still, I look down, and the grass is so green, I cannot understand how it does not wither and die with sorrow. ~Song of the Sparrow

What place does a woman have here, in the realm of men?

The song is languid and speaks of love and loneliness and loss. Why does love seem to go with the sad things?

Love is a tempestuous mistress. And none of us shall ever master her.

My sparrow, she flickers and wakes and sings and sings.

I shuffle along, letting the current pull me, and i have the sense that I am like a rat caught in a maze of tunnels, moving endlessly toward some promise of...of what? Light? Life? Cheese?

Oh my gosh, he smells good, like some exotic but comforting spice, nutmeg or cardamom. Slowly Damian lowers his head to mine and I think my chest might explode, my heart is tap-dancing so qui

So, what's up with you and Damian?" Helena

That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking, what's your vice and what brand of trouble does it lead to?

An Asetian never tries to talk louder than the crowd surrounding him. An Asetian becomes that crowd.

As compassionate beings, we cannot harm others, not even through our inaction.

Near me nothing but distances.

My prophetic task would be twofold: to stand up to him, and to stand by him. To awaken his conscience, and to salve the pain this would cause him.

care for your body as you care for your home, and care for your home as you care for your body.

No matter how skillfully a man play the game of life, there is but one test of his ability--did he win?

Poets lose half the praise they should have got, Could it be known what they discreetly blot.

I've always got on very well with the French, perhaps because I'm very natural.

There's nothing as perfect as the initial idea. And the only reason I write and direct is to protect the writing, because that's what's most precious.