You search, you break your heart, your back, your brain, and then-and only then-it is handed to you.

Admire the world for never ending on you -- as you would an opponent, without taking your eyes away from him, or walking away.

Evolution loves death more than it loves you or me. This is easy to write, easy to read, and hard to believe.

When I was six or seven years old, growing up in Pittsburgh, I used to take a precious penny of my own and hide it for someone else to find. I was greatly excited at the thought of the first lucky passerby who would receive a gift in this way, regardless of merit, a free gift from the universe. . . . I've been thinking about seeing. There are lots of things to see, unwrapped gifts and free surprises. The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand.

Silence is not our heritage but our destiny; we live where we want to live.

The soul may ask God for anything, and never fail.

I wake up thinking: What am I reading? What will I read next? I'm terrified that I'll run out, that I will read through all I want to, and be forced to learn wildflowers at last, to keep awake.