Marvin S.

“There is a way to master silence
Control its curves, inhabit its dark corners
And listen to the hiss of time outside

”
― Paul Bowles

“[A]nother important difference between tourist and traveler is that the former accepts his own civilization without question; not so the traveler, who compares it with the others, and rejects those elements he finds not to his liking.”
― Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky

“The sky hides the night behind it and shelters the people beneath from the horror that lies above.”
― Paul Bowles

“When I was young” … “Before I was twenty, I mean, I used to think that life was a thing that kept gaining impetus, it would get richer and deeper each year. You kept learning more, getting wiser, having more insight, going further into the truth” – she hesitated.

Port laughed abruptly. – “And now you know it’s not like that. Right? It’s more like smoking a cigarette. The first few puffs it tasted wonderful, and you don’t even think of its ever being used up. Then you begin taking it for granted. Suddenly you realize it’s nearly burned down to the end. And then’s when you’re conscious of the bitter taste.”
― Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky