Line by Line

I’d like, please, to leave on your sill/ just one cold flower, whose beauty// Would leave you inconsolable all day./ The secret of poetry is cruelty.

Above I’ve quoted the final lines of a poem by Jon Anderson.  These are some of the most memorable lines I’ve ever encountered.  I would like, please, to offer something so small and simple that would drive people mad with some brutal quotient of beauty or truth.  I’d like to string together a line that sticks with you.

Below are some lines that stick with me.  They come from published writing, personal letters or essays, or just conversations.  Sharp in their brutality or startling in their vulnerability, they’re what I always remember.

I’m feeling sort of blue today, and like I can’t quite say what I mean.  But these lines hit their mark beautifully.

“You know you’re my best friend, right?”

“My father drank.  He drank as a gut-punched boxer gasps for breath…”

“My palm meets my palm, and I pull myself out.”

“Time doesn’t matter, distance doesn’t matter.  Nothing matters.  I love you so much and always will.”