d4

“One cannot, at once, claim to be superhuman and then plead mortal error. I propose to take our countrymen’s claims of American exceptionalism seriously, which is to say I propose subjecting our country to an exceptional moral standard.”
― Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me

“I do not grieve in the abstract, but in the heart.”
― Alice Walker

“A war raged between my jokey and protective brain and my squishy and tender heart. I have realized that mystery is what keeps people away, and I've grown tired of smoke and mirrors. I yearn for the clean, well-lighted place. So let's peek behind the curtain and hail the others like us. The open-faced sandwiches who take risks and live big and smile with all of their teeth. These are the people I want to be around. This is the honest way I want to live and love and write.”
― Amy Poehler

“I tell you, Chickadee
I am afraid of people
Who cannot cry
Tears left unshed
Turn to poison
In the ducts
Ask the next soldier you see
Enjoying a massacre
If this is not so.

People who do not cry
Are victims
Of soul mutilation
Paid for in Marlboros
And trucks.

Violence does not work
Except for the man
Who pays your salary
Who knows
If you could still weep
You would not take the job.”
― Alice Walker