I do feel that if you can write one good sentence and then another good sentence and then another, you end up with a good story.
Amy HempelRead
Then the children went to bed, or at least went upstairs, and the men joined the women for a cigarette on the porch, absently picking ticks engorged like grapes off the sleeping dogs. And when the men kissed the women good night, and their weekend whiskers scratched the women's cheeks, the women did not think shave, they thought stay.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the simple yet profound moments of life and the connections between people.
In this quote by Amy Hempel, the imagery of children going to bed and adults sharing a cigarette on the porch highlights the ordinary yet intimate nature of relationships. It suggests that in the small, mundane actions and thoughts of daily life, deeper feelings of connection and longing are present, as seen when the women prioritize emotional closeness over physical appearances.
In practice
This quote could be shared during a family gathering to emphasize the importance of connection.
I do feel that if you can write one good sentence and then another good sentence and then another, you end up with a good story.
I sleep with a glass of water on the nightstand so I can see by its level if the coastal earth is trembling or if the shaking is still me.
if it's true your life flashes past your eyes before you die, then it is also the truth that your life rushes forth when you are ready to start to truly be alive.
Too-lateness, I realized, has nothing to do with age. It’s a relation of self to the moment. Or not, depending on the person and the moment. Perhaps there even comes a time when it’s no longer too late for anything. Perhaps, even, most times are too early for most things, and most of life has to go by before it’s time for almost anything and too late for almost nothing. Nothing to lose, the present moment to gain, the integration with long-delayed Now.
It is astonishing how much more people are interested in lengthening life than improving it.
Shells sink, dreams float. Life's good on our boat.
As I apologized to her a flicker of panic raced through me and then faded away. There wasn't enough life left in me to panic. I'd made a mistake and I was dying. Apparently not even a Speck afterlife was available to me. I'd simply stop being. Apparently I hadn't died correctly. Oops.
You know, some people fall right through the hole in their lives. It's invisible, but they come to it after time, never knowing where.
If all life moves inevitably towards its end, then we must, during our own, colour it with our colours of love and hope.
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