And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

When others asked the truth of me, I was convinced it was not the truth they wanted, but an illusion they could bear to live with.

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.

I have no brakes on...analysis is for those who are paralyzed by life.

I want to fall in love in such a way that the mere sight of a man, even a block away from me, will shake and pierce me, will weaken me, and make me tremble and soften and melt.

My first vision of earth was water veiled. I am of the race of men and women who see all things through this curtain of sea and my eyes are the color of water.

At first she beckoned and lured one into her world; then, she blurred the passageways, confused all the images, as if to elude detection.