Vriti

“If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.”
― Holly Black, The Cruel Prince

“Sonnet XVII

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way than this:

where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep. ”
― Pablo Neruda

“My mother is Ketterdam. She birthed me in the harbor. And my father is profit. I honor him daily.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom

“The moral of this story is:

Beware the man who faces you unarmed.

If in his eyes you are not the target,

then you can be sure you are the weapon.”
― Olivie Blake, The Atlas Six