Kate

“The Staging

In the weeks after my mother's death, I sleep
Four or five hours a night, often interrupted
By dreams, and take two or three naps a day.

It seems like enough. I can survive if I keep
This sleep schedule as it has been constructed
For me. But if it seems my reflexes are delayed,

Or if I sway when I walk, or weep or do not weep,
Please don't worry. I'm not under destruction.
My grief has cast me in a lethargic cabaret.

So pay the cover charge and take your seat.
This mourning has become a relentless production
And I've got seventy-eight roles to play.”
― Sherman Alexie, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

“So we must forgive all those Who trespass against us? Fuck that shit. I’m not some charitable trust. There are people I will hate Even after I’m ashes and dust.”
― Sherman Alexie, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

“....Dear friends, I am often a lonely man,

Even in a room full of people who love me. Dear friends, my brain--
Unpredictable as it was--is even more unpredictable now.
But thank God for all of the ways in which we compensate.
For our deficiencies.”
― Sherman Alexie, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

“Listen. I don't know how or when

My grieving will end, but I'm always
Relearning how to be human again.”
― Sherman Alexie, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me