Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World

by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Your aunt Ophelia took the words I don’t belong and wrote them on her heart. It took her a long to time to take those words and throw them out of her body. She threw out those words one letter at a time.

“Just because you don’t think that you’re anything special doesn’t mean I agree with you.”

Sometimes silence was the only song worth singing.

I wonder if people like me ever get to know what peace is like.

you can also discover all the hurt that exists in the world in your own tears—if you listen to the song your tears are singing.

If we’re lucky. If we’re very lucky, the universe will send us the people we need to survive.

But, for me, to love was one thing. To let yourself be loved, well, that was the most difficult thing of all.

“Don’t ever let anybody tell you that war is something beautiful or heroic. When people say war is hell, war is hell. Cowards start wars, and the brave fight them.”

It’s strange to wake up and then realize that there is sadness in the house. And there is sadness everywhere inside you.