The Water Dancer

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The mind believes that there should be air, since there is always air to be had, and the urge to breathe is such a matter of instinct that it requires a kind of focus to belay the order.

Sloth was literal death for us, while for them it was the whole ambition of their lives.

so that more than I must live in fear of the Quality, I must necessarily live in fear of myself.