Eventually I knew what hair wanted; it wanted to be itself ... to be left alone by anyone, including me, who did not love it as it was.

I feel like to be where you need to be - where you know you need to be - is such a high. What could be better?

Writing poems is my way of celebrating with the world that I have not committed suicide the evening before.

Oh, Celie, unbelief is a terrible thing. And so is the hurt we cause others unknowingly.

I don’t need a certain number of friends, just a number of friends I can be certain of.

In the far upper corner of my altar is a photo of Joan Crawford in her most fierce Mommy Dearest mode, just to remind me of some of the cost of everyone's hard-earned sweetness and light.

I'm where I need to be, so my heart is light. Whatever happens, I know - I mean, I feel - that this is absolutely where I should be and I've lived up to my own expectations.