7,819 books
—
26,124 voters
Philena Pugh
https://www.goodreads.com/philena_pugh
“Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth”
― When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
― When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
“Separation
Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle.
Everything I do is stitched with its color.”
―
Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle.
Everything I do is stitched with its color.”
―
“In Blackwater Woods
Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars
of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,
the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders
of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is
nameless now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned
in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side
is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.”
― New and Selected Poems, Volume One
Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars
of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,
the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders
of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is
nameless now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned
in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side
is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.”
― New and Selected Poems, Volume One
“When adults say, "Teenagers think they are invincible" with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don't know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail.”
― Looking for Alaska
― Looking for Alaska
Young Adult Book Reading Challenges
— 8286 members
— last activity Mar 19, 2026 11:38AM
Welcome to the Young Adult Book Reading Challenges! Welcome everyone who is interested in YA books! We have amazing reading challenges going on all t ...more
Philena’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Philena’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Philena
Lists liked by Philena














































