“I keep such music in my brain No din this side of death can quell; Glory exulting over pain, And beauty, garlanded in hell.”

“From the moment of my birth, the angels of anxiety, worry, and death stood at my side, followed me out when I played, followed me in the sun of springtime and in the glories of summer. They stood at my side in the evening when I closed my eyes, and intimidated me with death, hell, and eternal damnation. And I would often wake up at night and stare widely into the room: Am I in Hell?”

“It's my side. I have found the pain. It is in my side, and I isolate it and define it, and arrange the other pains around it. I tell myself that pain is information, that I am learning to map the spaces of my own body. Then my body's feelings cascade toward my side, and pain pours over its outlines and erases them. ("Marriage")”

“I glanced at my brother. "How the hell did you jump to that conclusion?!" I asked.He just grinned and tapped the side of his head. "Brains, dear girl, brains."I snorted softly."I wasn't aware that was where you kept your brains.”

“I never really wanted to die. But I followed through anyway. The pain in my heart was excruciating, and death was beautiful.”

“For at the hour of death you became a celebrated film star, it is a moment of glory for everyone, when the choral music scales the top notes.”