“I stood there in the shadowed doorway thinking with my tears. Yes, tears can be thoughts, why not?”

“I am the immense shadow of my tears”

“Then I noticed that my shadow was crying too, shedding clear, sharp shadow tears. Have you ever seen the shadows of tears, Mr. Wind-Up Bird? They’re nothing like ordinary shadows. Nothing at all. They come here from some other, distant world, especially for our hearts. Or maybe not. It struck me then that the tears my shadow was shedding might be the real thing, and the tears that I was shedding were just shadows. You don’t get it, I’m sure, Mr. Wind-Up Bird. When a naked seventeen-year-old girl is shedding tears in the moonlight, anything can happen. It’s true.”

“It was impossible to go back. My eyes filled with tears. I could not stop them from forming. I was certain that she still stood in the doorway watching me as I walked away. The force that keeps me from turning around and going back must be the same that makes her remain standing in the doorway, unable to come after me./For Bread Alone”

“I don't know very many people who can piece together eloquent prayers when their souls are wounded. Words don't come at those times, but tears do. I have always thought of my tears as prayers.”

“Why, I can smile and murder whiles I smile,And cry 'content' to that which grieves my heart,And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,And frame my face for all occasions”