But love was always something heavy for me. Something I had to carry.

If you want to be a writer, you don't want to live in a comfortable place.

Young men and women come of age when they look at their parents and see them not only as their parents but as people. They gain a lot of compassion, and it's easier to accept their flaws.

I wondered if my smile was as big as hers. Maybe as big. But not as beautiful.

For a moment, I thought of the word happy and it was a word that just, well, it felt like it was visiting me. I knew it wouldn’t last for very long and I’d be sad again and then it would be worse because it’s one thing to be sad and it’s another thing to be sad once you’ve been happy. Being sad after you’ve been happy is the worst thing in the world.

I got to thinking that poems were like people. Some people you got right off the bat. Some people you just didn't get--and never would get.

The summer sun was not meant for boys like me. Boys like me belonged to the rain.