Writers, however mature and wise and eminent, are children at heart.

Darkness is drawn to light, but light does not know it; light must absorb the darkness and therefore meet its own extinguishment.

it is not good to repudiate the dead because then they do not leave you alone, they are like dogs that bark intermittently at night.

never forget this moment, the hum of the bee, the saffron threads of the flower, the drawn blinds, nature's assiduousness and human cruelty.

When you fall in love, it is spring no matter when. Leaves falling make no difference, they are from another season.

When anyone asks me about the Irish character, I say look at the trees. Maimed, stark and misshapen, but ferociously tenacious.

I know the mistake I am making. I see the exits in life.