“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares at the bird's bright orange eyes. Like the color of the bird's wings in the painting. Or the small touch of lichen on the rock by the Japanese woman's foot. Natalia did not truly see the painting. Is it excitement of the unknown that pulled her away, or despair? He know the answer. He returns the bird to its cage, pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket, and writes, Paris Will lose, but there is a woman who will fight without fear because she believes she has already lost everything. [pp. 1722-173]”

“Hanne is stretched out on her back. Faces hover in a circle above her. A boy with big blue eyes. A woman whose front teeth rest on her lower lip. An old Chinese woman wearing all gray, herface expressionless, as if she’s seen this before, and much worse. Suddenly a man’s face zooms toward her. Beads of sweat on his upper lip. Dark sideburns. Dark nose hairs. His eyes are close-set,unnervingly so. “Don’t move,” he says, his breath reeking of garlic and cigarette smoke.An imperative. She tries to sit up, and when she can’t, attempts to understand why she’s on the floor. This is notwhere she should be. She knows that. What is she doing here? “She’s bleeding . . . Hurt. A woman.” But nothing hurts. Liquid streams from her nose, down her cheek, pools into her ear. The circle of faces still above her. But she can’t right herself. Theworld is tilting. The man with sideburns is squatting beside her.What does he want? He’s saying something to her. Telling hersomething, his horrible breath assaulting her. Get back. She can’tget her mouth to shout, Move back! She hunts for that perfect moment again, the water, her children when they were young, Hiro, but it is gone.”

“Caged BirdA free bird leaps on the back of the windand floats downstream till the current endsand dips his wing in the orange suns rays and dares to claim the sky.But a bird that stalks down his narrow cagecan seldom see through his bars of ragehis wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.The caged bird sings with a fearful trillof things unknown but longed for stilland his tune is heard on the distant hillfor the caged bird sings of freedom.The free bird thinks of another breezeand the trade winds soft through the sighing treesand the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own.But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreamshis shadow shouts on a nightmare screamhis wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.The caged bird sings with a fearful trillof things unknown but longed for stilland his tune is heard on the distant hillfor the caged bird sings of freedom.”

“I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,-When he beats his bars and would be free;It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings-I know why the caged bird sings!”

“The bird looked much smaller dead than alive. Jody felt a little mean pain in his stomach, so he took out his pocketknife and cut off the bird's head. Then he disemboweled it, and took off its wings; and finally he threw all the pieces into the brush. He didn't care about the bird, or its life, but he knew what older people would say if they had seen him kill it; he was ashamed because of their potential opinion.”

“He was a hot, hot former priest and she wanted to pull a Thorn Birds on his ass.”

“She felt the glide of his hair as he lowered his head to study the zipper on her skirt. Herimagination supplied other places his hair could touch, and she drew in her breath.He carefully pulled down the zipper, then pulled it back up. After several up and downforays, Kathy grew impatient:"Hello? Have I lost you to a zipper?" Darn. She must sound like every greedy womanwho'd ever lain with him.His soft chuckle reassured her. " 'Tis a long night, lass, and the waiting willna hurt ye.These metal teeth are wondrous things.”