It was only a phrase that went from mouth to mouth and was never quite swallowed.

Shiny musical instruments wailed, their mouths open like lilies.

And everything would be different, different.

In our city spring came from the sky, not from the soil, which was ruled by stone that recognizes no seasonal change. The change of the season could be glimpsed in the thinning of clouds, the appearance of the birds and the occasional rainbow.

It was only a phrase that went from mouth to mouth and was never quite swallowed.

A mountaineer’s house, before being his home and the home of his family, is the home of God and of guests.

Can one move an empire as if it were a house?