“And so I told him how living in Japan would give him a leisure no mere tourist has, to know the rhythms of the place, a land of tiny poems.”

“I did not know how to reach him, how to catch up with him... The land of tears is so mysterious.”

“I kissed him, trying to bring him back. I kissed him and let my lips rest against his so that our breath mingled and the tears from my eyes became salt on his skin, and I told myself that, somewhere, tiny particles of him would become tiny particles of me, ingested, swallowed, alive, perpetual. I wanted to press every bit of me against him. I wanted to will something into him. I wanted to give him every bit of life I felt and force him to live.”

“It would seem that God had merely asked me to give Him my mind, my training, the ability that He has given me; to serve Him unquestioningly; and to leave with Him the consequences....How wonderful God is, and how foolish we are to argue with Him and not to trust Him wholly in every situation as we seek to serve Him!”

“What did I care about my hammer, about my bolt, about thirst or death? There was, on one star, on one planet, on mine, the Earth, a little prince to be consoled! I took him in my arms. I rocked him. I told him, 'The flower you love is not in danger...I'll draw you a muzzle for your sheep...I'll draw you a fence for your flower...I' I didn't know what to say. How clumsy I felt! I didn't know how to reach him, where to find him...It's so mysterious, the land of tears.”

“I found a tiny starfishIn a tide pool by the sand.I found a tiny starfishAnd I put him in my hand.An itty-bitty starfishNo bigger than my thumb,A wet and golden starfishBelonging to no one.I thought that I would take himFrom the tidepool by the sea,And bring him home to give youA loving gift from me.But as I held my starfish,His skin began to dry.Without his special seaside home,My gift for you would die.I found a tiny starfishIn a tide pool by the sea.I hope whoever finds him nextWill leave him there, like me!And the gift I've saved for you?The best that I can give:I found a tiny starfish,And for you, I let him live.”