“Brother, stand the pain.Escape the poison of your impulses.The sky will bow to your beauty, if you do.Learn to light the candle. Rise with the sun. Turn away from the cave of your sleeping.That way a thorn expands to a rose.”

“Mary bring out your umbrella - The sun shines down on this fine, fine dayBut the ashes raining down foreverAre going to turn your hair to gray.Mary keep your oars a-steadySail away on the rising floodKeep your candle at the readyRed tides can't be told from blood.- "Miss Mary" (a common child's clapping game, dating from the time of the blitz), from Pattycake and Beyond: A History of Play”

“Think of your pain like a bunch of red roses, a beautiful thorn necklace. Everyone has one.”

“If the question is: what's more mortifying than professing your love to a boy and having him turn and walk away from you? The answer is: professing your love to a boy, while standing in front of your friends, parents and a hundred strangers, and having him turn and walk away from you.”

“Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor. Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender. Turn your face away from the garish light of day, turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light, and listen to the music of the night... Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams, purge your thoughts of the life you knew before. Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar, and live, as you never lived before!”

“I will set the mirror up, to face the blackened sky, you will see your beauty every moment that you rise.”