8stitches 9lives

“On the Term of Exile

No need to drive a nail into the wall
To hang your hat on;
When you come in, just drop it on the chair
No guest has sat on.

Don’t worry about watering the flowers—
In fact, don’t plant them.
You will have gone back home before they bloom,
And who will want them?

If mastering the language is too hard,
Only be patient;
The telegram imploring your return
Won’t need translation.

Remember, when the ceiling sheds itself
In flakes of plaster,
The wall that keeps you out is crumbling too,
As fast or faster.”
― BY BERTOLT BRECHT TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY ADAM KIRSCH

“You are no richer than what you carry in your mind, no stronger than what you hold in your heart, and no purer than what you harbor in your soul.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo

“In principle and reality, libraries are life-enhancing palaces of wonder.”
― Gail Honeyman, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

“Ideologies are excuses to keep power, or pretexts to acquire power.”
― Durrenmatt, Fr