I could never work out whether we were to view religion as a life-insurance policy or a life sentence.

I don't *ever* write about real people. Art is supposed to be better than that. If you want a slice of life, look out the window.

Plants do everything animals do, but slowly. They migrate, communicate, deceive, stalk their food and, with an ostentation of styles and perfumes to put the animal kingdom to shame, they make love. It's just that catching them in flagrante delicto might require time-lapse photography.

Your own family resemblances are a frustrating code, most easily read by those who know you least.

Global commerce is driven by a single conviction: the inalienable right to earn profit, regardless of any human cost.

God, why does a mortal man have children? It is senseless to love anything this much.

Thanks for this day, for all birds safe in their nests, for whatever this is, for life.