“Cry, child, for those without tears have a grief which never ends.” — Mexican saying (p. 13) “I could see he didn’t want to give up on me yet. But he always told me: People give up on themselves first.” (p. 159) “…I was crazy — like my Tía Chucha, who continued to create without…
dom
I emailed myself the various obits I found for my music teacher, and every time I open that email account, his passing weighs on my chest. But it’s not his passing, exactly; rather, it’s my failing to achieve what he knew I could. He wore short sleeved button up shirts, knit cardigans, and pants. He…
memorial services
My dad reads the newspaper. He came across an obituary mid-April that he cut out and saved for me. He gave the clipping to me Mother’s Day weekend. My music teacher passed away. I asked my father why he hadn’t told me sooner, and he responded, “Why? He’s still dead.” Uncomprehendingly, he kept me, and…
Ender’s Shadow
“That’s why I’ve never understood suicide. Even those suffering from great depression or guilt–don’t they feel Christ the Comforter in their hearts, giving them hope?” “You’re asking me?” “God not being convenient, I ask a fellow mortal.” “In my view, suicide is not really the wish for life to end.” “What is it, then?” “It…
Live by Art
“Not for nothing do we invest so much of ourselves in other people’s lives, or even in momentary pictures of people we do not know. The happy group inside a lighted window, the figure in an orchard seen from a train: they stay and support us in our dark hours. Illusions are art, and it…
Splendid Torch
“My life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatsoever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief…
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
“You got to understand that as soon as a man goes to help somebody, he leaves himself wide open.” “…you can’t really be strong until you can see a funny side to things.” Ken Kesey. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Steppenwolf
“I use this place as a temple…and let the touching air it has…move me to the depths of my soul.” (p. 29) “the thousand flowers of his soul.” (p. 65) “…my dreams had been right a thousand times over, just as yours had been. It was life and reality that were wrong.” (p. 150) Hermann…
The Sheltering Sky
“I used to think that life was a thing that kept gaining impetus. It would get richer and deeper each year. You kept learning more, getting wiser, having more insight, going further into the truth– “It’s more like smoking a cigarette. The first few puffs it tastes wonderful, and you don’t even think of its…
The Prophet
“The the gates of his heart were flung open, and his joy flew far over the sea. And he closed his eyes and prayed in the silences of his soul.” (p. 7) “If he is indeed wise, he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold…