Matt Rixon

“And here, shipmates, is true and faithful repentance; not clamorous for pardon, but grateful for punishment.”
― Herman Melville, Moby-Dick or, The Whale

“Atonement was powerful; it was the lock on the door you closed against the past.”
― Stephen King, The Green Mile

“Still the dream persists, suppressed but always there, that somehow by some miraculous effort of the heart what was done could be undone. What form would such atonement take that would turn back time and bring the dead to life? None. None possible, not in the real world. And yet in my imaginings I can clearly see this cleansed new creature steaming up out of myself like a proselyte rising drenched from the baptismal river amid glad cries.”
― John Banville

“It’s difficult to turn from the promise of retribution. Even if it’s the barest promise.”
― Sarah MacLean, No Good Duke Goes Unpunished