“Pan and the CherriesI RECOGNIZED him by his skips and hops,And by his hair I knew that he was Pan.Through sunny avenues he ran,And leapt for cherries to the red tree-tops.Upon his fleece were pearling water dropsLike little silver stars. How pure he was! And this was when my spring was arched with blue. Now, seeing a cherry of a smoother gloss,He seized it, and bit the kernel from the pulp.I watched him with great joy ... I came anigh ...He spat the kernel straight into my eye.I ran to kill Pan with my knife!He stretched his arm out, swirled--And the whole earth whirled! Let us adore Pan, god of all the world!”

“He's fucking stone cold deadpan. His pan is so dead he could lay it in a casket and bury it at Bellevue. They made a movie about him once: Dawn of Ivan's Pan.”

“But he came, when I was at my darkest. I prayed him down from the sky, and he came in a flash of blue fire that lit up the heavens. I know he came by his own choice, but he came because I called him. He came when I could no longer take the weight of the world on my own. He came when I needed him the most. He came and saved me from myself, saved me from the waters that rose up to my chest and over my head.”

“Able closed his eyes. He was running. The grass was green with spring and fragrant, knee-high and cushioning his steps. And there was sun and a warm wind blew. Men called to him from the trees just atop the rise. He ran. He ran to them.”

“He ran his fingers through my hair, his touch so gentle that it felt like a warm summer breeze. “All I want is you.”I shivered. Milo’s lips parted in his sleep, and he made an adorable suckling motion. “All I want is to be a family. A real, live family, together and safe from all of this.”“We will be,” he promised. “I will make sure of it.” I leaned against him and wrapped my arm around his waist, his silk shirt tickling the inside of my wrist. How long would it be before we got to spend time together like this again?”

“He whirled in the water and grinned at me. Damn, he was a handsome bastard. I realized he was half-naked. Blue swirls of tattoos painted his chest. When God made that chest, he did to tempt women.”