Jolene

“I don't think I could ever see her closely," the sentinel replied, "however close she came." His own voice was hushed and regretful, echoing with lost chances.”
― Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn

“I didn't know what to tell people about surviving a loss I couldn't even remember, or how the face I saw reflected in the mirror often seemed like a stranger's. And I couldn't lie to myself about why I struggled to feel I belonged in my own life; not since the day I'd finally asked a classmate why she didn't like me, and she pulled her eyes back and said, "The same reason no one else likes you." No matter how many answers I doled out or how much I prayed for acceptance, I was never going to grow out of being Korean in a white town.”
― Nicole Chung, All You Can Ever Know

“Avoidance might not be the ideal solution, but it was more constructive than confession. Cleansing the mind by revealing its most putrid parts felt as excruciating and ineffective as purifying the soul with a flagellant's whip.”
― Anthony Marra, Mercury Pictures Presents

“My children were slick otters of joy in these rough waters of living”
― Joy Harjo, Poet Warrior