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Bad luck, like the white-scabs disease, can infect others.

We were alone in the world, and we had left dear ties behind us.

Phaethon thought he could drive the sun but was struck down to earth.

May your wife remove her shirt and have an affair with a tornado.

The sounds of Africa exploded around the white men and women.

Let those shadows sift the spirits of their children from the silt.

I taste on my tongue a gunshot of synapses warm and light like butter

He says the word robbery and you don’t know if he’s asking or telling.

One of the most important human capacities is compassion.

They were such dummkopfs they kicked out the Jews.

I will have to remember the man’s hooded eyes as he watches.

No one in Lagos slouches. Bravado pulsates through the room.

She has beautiful cheekbones, but her eyes are nearly colorless.

I became a realist the moment they tied a brick to my balls.

I’m told that even during war, she took the time to put on lipstick.

the woman wiped her hands on her apron saying “lord these children”

You decide that in this city all things are possible, even happiness.

“Leaving for war, Hayes wept. He didn’t just cry; he wept...”

Liz wore a brass wedding ring, and had no marriage certificate to show.

Don’t send me home without a round of applause if not a title.

If you play, decide three things: the rules, stakes, and quitting time.

Dad doesn’t believe I’m beauty queen material. I believe in myself.

He is not in the position to lose a friend. Not when one is all he has.

Most people come to Africa because they are drawn to its misery.

Ink to paper, she is inventory, has a price tag. A piece to catalog.

through the trees, breathless, the grouse leads us steady as a rope.

I watched to see how the others lived, not knowing I was the Other.

The story of racism does not simply happen to people of color.

It suddenly seemed to her that the world was filled with little miracles. There were moments when love overcame her despair.