“To a toad, what is beauty? A female with pop eyes, a wide mouth, yellow belly, and a spotted back,”

“The men laugh at the witty line, but it is not a belly laugh. Beasley's mouth is in a wide smile, but his eyes do not laugh, for there is little reason for joy. And if eyes are indeed mirrors of the soul, then they reflect an infinite sadness. I look away, afraid of what mine might reflect”

“Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun. ”

“I pop a beautiful sentence into my mouth and suck it like a fruit drop.”

“There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun”

“She is staring at me wide-eyed, willing me to understand: that people should be sacrificed to causes, that beauty can be built on the backs of the dead.”