“Upon an ever expansive horizon, Life reveals Her mystery; To live is a gift, to feel is a blessing, and to take part in Her beauty is a miracle renewed each day.”

“Hold her tight, if you have her; hold her tight, I thought, that's my advice to all the living. Breathe her in, put your nose in her hair, breathe her in deeply. Say her name. It will always be her name. Not even death can steal it. Same alive as dead, always. Aura Estrada.”

“I was toldThe average girl begins to plan her wedding at the age of 7She picks the colors and the cake firstBy the age of 10 She knows time,And locationBy 17She’s already chosen a gown2 bridesmaidsAnd a maid of honorBy 23 She’s waiting for a manWho wont break out in hives when he hears the word “commitment”Someone who doesn’t smell like a Band-Aid drenched in lonely Someone who isn’t a temporary solution to the empty side of the bedSomeoneWho’ll hold her hand like it’s the only one they’ve ever seenTo be honestI don’t know what kind of tux I’ll be wearingI have no clue what want my wedding will look likeBut I imagineThe women who pins my last to hersWill butterfly down the aisleLike a 5 foot promiseI imagineHer smileWill be so large that you’ll see it on google mapsAnd know exactly where our wedding is being heldThe woman that I plan to marryWill have champagne in her walkAnd I will get drunk on her footstepsWhen the pastor asksIf I take this woman to be my wifeI will say yes before he finishes the sentenceI’ll apologize later for being impoliteBut I will also explain himThat our first kiss happened 6 years agoAnd I’ve been practicing my “Yes”For past 2, 165 daysWhen people ask me about my weddingI never really know what to sayBut when they ask me about my future wifeI always tell themHer eyes are the only Christmas lights that deserve to be seen all year longI sayShe thinks too muchMisses her fatherLoves to laughAnd she’s terrible at lyingBecause her face never figured out how to do it correctlI tell themIf my alarm clock sounded like her voiceMy snooze button would collect dust I tell themIf she came in a bottleI would drink her until my vision is blurry and my friends take away my keysIf she was a bookI would memorize her table of contentsI would read her cover-to-coverHoping to find typosJust so we can both have a few things to work onBecause aren’t we all unfinished?Don’t we all need a little editing?Aren’t we all waiting to be proofread by someone?Aren’t we all praying they will tell us that we make sense She don’t always make senseBut her imperfections are the things I love about her the mostI don’t know when I will be marriedI don’t know where I will be marriedBut I do know thisWhenever I’m asked about my future wifeI always say…She’s a lot like you”

“She is my musician, and me, I’m her favorite song.”

“ONE AFTERNOON DURING THAT FINAL SPRING, AFTER SHE HAD TURNED THIRTY AURA TURNED TO ME FROM HER DESK WHILE I LAY ON THE BED READING, AND SHE SAID, 'WE HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED TO BE HAPPY. WE DONT HAVE TO BE RICH. WE CAN GET JOBS IN THE UNIVERSITIES IF WE NEED THEM. WE HAVE OUR BOOKS, OUR READING, OUR WRITING, AND WE HAVE EACH OTHER, FRANK. WE DONT NEED MORE TO BE HAPPY, WE ARE SO LUCKY. DO YOU KNOW HOW LUCKY WE ARE?”

“God's love descends on some like dew on a flower, blessed be He, but sometimes we trudge along our comfortable lives and bam, He descends on us like a splash of gasoline... and then He strikes a match.”

“The existence of God, I discovered one day, is not a problem. Whether he exists or not doesn't affect us; in the slightest, and there is no reason to worry about something that doesn't affect us. But religion on the other hand does affect us; it stuck its pointed nose into even the most hidden depths of our lives. Like an invisible policeman, it had tried to keep our existence under surveillance, to regulate with its cruel, cold, hypocritical logic. As Jupiter castrated Saturn, so the church has tried to castrate all of us.”