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Quote by Steve Kowit

“Take heed, you who read this, & drop to your knees now & again like the poet Christopher Smart, & kiss the earth & be joyful, & make much of your time, & be kindly to everyone, even to those who do not deserve it. For although you may not believe it will happen, you too will one day be gone, I, whose Levi's ripped at the crotch for no reason, assure you that such is the case. Pass it on.”

Quote by Steve Kowit

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Steve Kowit

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“Whitman, you once told me, is democracy on the page, messy and imperfect as we are in real life, which gave you hope that we would one day make real life true democracy, ripe blossom, pollen dusting every moment and person, each scampering mote of light. This is why as you lay dying, I read “I Hear America Singing” and knew you heard every word and could feel my hand on yours though you were already moving toward other miracles than this life. A sunflower followed your motion and a yellow dog stood guard. You, who lived the notion that the sun belongs to each and every one, beggars, dreamers, kings, all. You who believed banks could have hearts, for god’s sake! You have left it to us, messy and imperfect as we are and will be, to keep to the work side by side and as long as it takes, all the while singing of miracles just as Whitman and you taught us to do.”

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“But, Julius, I don't know what you do in Africa, but I must say, I'm ready to fo into the forest. I am ready to go in. It is time for me to enter the forest and lie down, and let the lions come for me. I've done enough, I think, I've had a good life, and I'm in such terrible pain just now. Who might say ninety years is not enough? It is time. I say down next to him and held his small, cold hand in mine. He was tired, and I left him, so that he could rest. I told him I would return soon.”

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“Her mother’s voice – which came as a whisper in her ear – seemed so solid, so clear in Milly’s mind, that it was like insects preserved perfectly in amber. The warmth of her mother’s breath, the whiff of the peppermints she sucked, and the light tickle of her hair – all perfectly encapsulated in her cerebrum. And so as the girl blossomed into a teenager, she had by now learnt to live with this condition, and soon came to appreciate the specialness of it. Even dead, her mother would always be there. With her.”

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“Dr. Winn, Nancy is about as sick as a person can be. I don't know if we will be able to get her into remission." He paused, momentarily looked out the window, and before reengaging, took a quick gasp-like breath that could be heard across the room. "If we can't achieve remission, she won't last the week . . . I am so very sorry." His definitive words were like the period at the end of the sentence. Final. No, they were worse. They were like the space after the period at the end of a sentence at the end of the paragraph at the end of the essay. Nothing more to add. Nothing more to say.”

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