“Hey! look at usWe're digging and diggingInto stubborn, ancient earth;We're discoveringWhere we came from,and how we came."but where are you going?"Hey! look at usWe're learning and learningInto stubborn lawsOf nature and spaceAnd non-nature and non-space;We're discoveringAll there is to know."but where are you going?"Hey! look at usWe're planning and planningInto stubborn yearsOf education and trainingAnd hopes and dreams;We're discoveringHow not to waste any time."but where are you going?"Hey! look at usWe're shiny and brightAnd clever and sophisticatedAnd witty and well-read;We're discoveringHow to really fill upThis old life."but where are you going?"where?"Yes; where?”
“Ron, we're supposed to show the first years where to go!" "Oh yeah," said Ron, who had obviously forgotten. "Hey -- hey you lot! Midgets!”
“You and I are walking in the snow. "Why are you walking backwards?" I ask. You point in the direction we came from. "So they'll think that's where I'm going." You point to where we're going. "And that's where I'm from.”
“For West is where we all plan to go some day. It is where you go when the land gives out and the old-field pines encroach. It is where you go when you get the letter saying: Flee, all is discovered. It is where you go when you look down at the blade in your hand and the blood on it. It is where you go when you are told that you are a bubble on the tide of empire. It is where you go when you hear that thar's gold in them-thar hills. It is where you go to grow up with the country. It is where you go to spend your old age. Or it is just where you go.”
“Baby, where we're going, you won't need a shirt.”
“I don't remember why it all went so wrong. I mean, I do remember. I remember what i did. I just don't remember why anymore. This - you and me - this feels so right. It just seems stupid - so stupid - that we had it before, and we let it go. We wasted so much time. I'm sorry.' She was close to tears.'Hey. Don't. There's no point in that. It's the past, and that's where it belongs. This is us now. We're here.'But where's here? We're hiding out. We're playing house. This isn't real life.''It feels real to me.''But it isn't.”