“WONDER WITHOUT WILLPOWER Love’s way becomes a pen sometimes writing g-sounds like gold or r-soundslike tomorrow in different calligraphystyles sliding by, darkening the paperNow it’s held upside down, now besidethe head, now down and on to somethingelse, figuring. One sentence savesan illustrious man from disaster, butfame does not matter to the split tongueof a pen. Hippocrates knows how the curemust go. His pen does not. This oneI am calling pen, or sometimes flag,has no mind. You, the pen, are most sanelyinsane. You cannot be spoken of rationally.Opposites are drawn into your presence butnot to be resolved. You are not wholeor ever complete. You are the wonderwithout willpower going where you want.”

“A great gift would be a cheap pen, mounted on a wooden plaque, with the accompanying label that reads, “This is the pen that was first used to write down these words. This is history. This happened. Now, go write your own history. But use another pen, because this one’s not only super glued to the wood, but it’s out of ink.”

“First, consider the pen you write with. It should be a fast-writing pen because your thoughts are always much faster than your hand. You don't want to slow up your hand even more with a slow pen. A ballpoint, a pencil, a felt tip, for sure, are slow. Go to a stationery store and see what feels good to you. Try out different kinds. Don't get too fancy and expensive. I mostly use a cheap Sheaffer fountain pen, about $1.95.... You want to be able to feel the connection and texture of the pen on paper.”

“Pens?" Chase echoed.Bridget rolled her eyes. "Pens are by far more stimulating than most people.""I'm kind of wondering what you're going with those pens," Chase saidMadison scrunched up her nose. "Get your mind out of the gutter.""My mind is always in the gutter around you.”

“Senior year. And then life. Maybe that's the way it worked. High school was just a prologue to the real novel. Everybody got to write you -- but when you graduated, you got to write yourself. At graduation you got to collect your teacher's pens and your parents' pens and you got your own pen. And you could do all the writing. Yeah. Wouldn't that be sweet?”

“If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.”