Syed Karim

“As I passed below the haloes of the green and red traffic signals, I was taken by this strange view of the evening, the city streets full of people— people waiting, the people they were waiting for, people out to eat together, people going somewhere together, people heading home together. I allowed my thoughts to settle on the brightness filling their hearts and lungs, squinting as I walked along and counted all the players of this game I would never play.”
― Mieko Kawakami, All the Lovers in the Night

“I knew that it was cruel to be so optimistic, but, in my solitude, I couldn't resist the urge and spent entire days basking in idiotic fantasies, sometimes verging on prayer.”
― Mieko Kawakami, Heaven

“How could I long so for someone whose existence I’d only just become aware of? But wasn’t it always like this? Some things we never know we need until we find them.”
― Sabahattin Ali, Kürk Mantolu Madonna

“On the train we swapped seats, you wanted the window and I wanted to look at you.”
― Mahmoud Darwish