Behind every myth lies a truth; beyond every legend is reality, as radiant (sometimes as chilling) as the story itself.

Meek-eyed parents hasten down the ramps To greet their offspring, terrible from camps.

Praise is warming and desirable. But it is an earned thing. It has to be deserved, like a hug from a child.

Aunts are discreet, a little shy / By instinct. They forbear to pry.

Sons do not need you. They are always out of your reach, Walking strange waters.

Men can't be trusted with pruning shears any more than they can be trusted with the grocery money in a delicatessen . . . They are like boys with new pocket knives who will not stop whittling.

In a successful marriage, there is no such thing as one's way. There is only the way of both, only the bumpy, dusty, difficult, but always mutual path.