Milkweed Quotes

“When you own nothing, it's easy to let things go.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“Who are you?'
I didn't understand the question.
I'm Uri', he said. 'What's your name?'
I gave him my name. 'Stopthief.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“He tapped my chest. 'Happy is here.' He tapped his own chest. 'Here.'
I looked down past my chin. 'Inside?'
'Inside.'
It was getting crowded in there. First angel. Now happy. It seemed there was more to me than cabbage and turnips.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“Some nights, we were a city of two.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“They don't live here. They live in Heaven.'
Where's that?'
I don't know,' I said. 'Enos says it's right here, on this side of the wall, but I never saw an angel over here. Kuba says it's in Russia. Olek says Washington America.'
What's Washington America?'
Enos says it's a place with no wall and no lice and lots of potatoes.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“Happy". I had not heard that word since Mr. Milgrom spoke it at the last Hanukkah. I asked him the question that had been on my mind since then. "Tata, what is happy?"
He looked at me and at the ceiling and back to me.
"Did you ever taste an orange?" he said. ”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“So," he said, "we ourselves will be the candle flames." He put his hands on his chest. "Feel your hearts, how warm they are.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“You are what you are"
"Which is what? I wondered”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“I thought of the stone angel. I pictured the snow falling over it, two classes of snow rising on the top of its wings. So silent, the both of them, the angel and the snow. I pretended I was the stone angel. I close my eyes and pretended as hard as I could, and after a while I was convinced I could feel wings sprouting from my shoulders. I wanted to look, to see my wings, but I was an angel stone, so I could not move.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“You" - he pointed at me - "are the black pearl.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“The louder the babies screamed, the brighter the lights.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“When you’re nothing, you’re free to believe anything.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“You're amazing,' he would say, and I would feel like a buttercream with a hazelnut heart”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“I loved his goatee even more than his mustache. It was so soft and white. I wanted to rub my face in it. I wanted to climb inside it and live there and peek out.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“Tanks rolled up the boulevard four by four and the sky shook on its hinges”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“When you own nothing, it’s easy to let things go.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“What's Washington America?"
"Enos says it's a place with no wall and no love and lots of potatoes.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“I’m Uri,” he said. “What’s your name?” I gave him my name. “Stopthief.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed

“Real mothers don't die," said Ferdi.
No one had an answer to that. So we talked about oranges. Like mothers, oranges were a common topic. Enos said he had eaten them many times, but Ferdi said they were only made up.
"What do oranges taste like?" I asked Enos.
He closed his eyes. "Like nothing else."
"What do they look like?"
"Like a little sun before it sets."
Feeding said, "Oranges don't exist.”
― Jerry Spinelli, Milkweed