Word Fornicator

To write a single line of verse one must see many cities, people, things, one must know animals, one must feel birds flying and know the movements flowers make as they open up in the morning. One must be able to think back to roads in unfamiliar regions, unexpected encounters, and partings which one saw coming long before; one must be able to think back to those days in peaceful and secluded rooms, and to those mornings by the sea, to the sea anywhere, to seas, to nights of travel that swept along high above, flying with the stars; to nights of love and passion. And it’s still not enough. Having all sorts of memories is still not enough. For the memories are not what’s essential. It’s only when they become blood within us, become our nameless looks and signs that are no longer distinguishable from ourselves—not until then does it happen that, in a very rare moment, the first word of a verse rises in their midst and goes forth from among them.

— Rainer Maria Rilke, from The Notebooks Of Malte Laurids Bridge (via violentwavesofemotion)

To hell with the world. Being in denial used to be my favourite expression until it became my life story. I have no wish to explain this any further to you. It’s as simple and as true as anything I have written regarding myself.

— Friedrich Nietzsche, from Selected Letters (via violentwavesofemotion)

You never realize the holes a person leaves behind until you fall into them.

— Neal Shusterman, The Dark Side of Nowhere (via fortress-of-screaming-souls)

(Source: larmoyante)