Terrance Hayes

“This is what it means to believe in ascension and fear climbing.”

“Look, the world is everywhere: satellites, end tables, the pink and white poinsettias outside the church; reunions and degrees. All those radiant asterisks . . . Soon it will all make sense.”

“If you and every person in the county mailedme an envelope of five to ten dollars, I thinkI could rehabilitate the sheep.”

“I am carrying the whimper you can hear when the mouth is collapsed, the wisdom of monkeys. Ask a glass of water why it pities the rain. Ask the lunatic yard dog why it tolerates the leash. Brothers and sisters, when you spend your nights out on a limb, there’s a chance you’ll fall in your sleep.”