Wow, " Jake said, his face going blank. "Assface. Is that a technical term? Maybe some kind of psychiatric diagnosis I'm not familiar with?

Should I get married? Should I be good?

An image pops into my head of Gabriel Storm in my bed, his golden skin sheened with sweat while I ride him to paradise. Oh. My. God. Where did that come from? I’ve sworn to stay away from men.

Failure after long perseverance is much grander than never to have a striving good enough to be called a failure.

I'm a fatalist.... I consider I am rejected in principle. My work is and, through my work, I am. If it's accepted, it's miraculous or the result of a misunderstanding.

Guilt is altruism's stock in trade, and the inducing of guilt is its only means of self-perpetuati on.

And what I've found over time is that for me to write a poem that I think is worthy that I can live with, two things have to happen.

I never thought I might become famous. It takes getting used to.

Worrying is the most natural and spontaneous of all human functions.

Karma means that all actions have consequences. Grace means that in a moment of atonement -taking responsibility, making amends, asking for forgiveness - all karma is burned.

Flow is being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz.