We are bound, you and I, and nothing on this earth shall part me from you.

You are mine, always, if ye will it or no, if ye want me or nay. Mine, and I willna let ye go

There comes a turning point in intense physical struggle where one abandons oneself to a profligate usage of strength and bodily resource, ignoring the costs until the struggle is over. Women find this point in childbirth; men in battle.

For so many years, for so long, I have been so many things, so many different men. But here," he said, so softly I could barely hear him, "here in the dark, with you… I have no name.

He's a man...and that's no small thing to be.

He splayed a hand out over the photographs, trembling fingers not quite touching the shiny surface, and then he turned and leaned toward me, slowly, with the improbable grace of a tall tree falling. He buried his face in my shoulder and went very quietly and thoroughly to pieces.

Men would eat horse droppings, if ye served them wi' butter.