Melissa

“I thought about the way my mind wanders, how I drift through days losing hours, forgetting to remain in my body. How they call me absentminded, forgetful. The way I am mercury spilling over surfaces—solid and liquid, here and not.”
― Bassey Ikpi, I'm Telling the Truth, but I'm Lying: Essays

“I have come Here to have the protection of your laughter.”
― Christopher Fry, The Lady's Not for Burning

“We are all travelers crossing from this bank to that bank, from this world to nirvana. But the waters are rough. We must rely on something in order to make it over. That something could be the art or literature that you aspire to create. You will think that the thing you choose will serve as your boat or raft to carry you to that other bank. But if you think deeply about it, you may find that it does not carry you but rather you carry it. Perhaps only the student who truly savors this paradox will make it safely across. Literature and art are not simply what will carry you; they are also what you must lay down your life for, what you must labor over and shoulder for the rest of your life.”
― Kyung-Sook Shin, I'll Be Right There

“All I’ve been working on is napping, and maybe being kinder to others, to myself.”
― Ada Limon, The Carrying