Extraits

My silence knot is tied up in my hair,

As if to keep love out of my eyes.

I cannot speak to one for whom I care.

A hatpin serves as part of my disguise.

In the play, my role is baticeer,

A word which here means "person who trains bats."

The audience may feel a prick of fear,

As if sharp pins were hidden in their hats.

My co-star lives on what we call a brae.

His solitude might not be just an act.

A piece of mail fails to arrive one day.

This poignant melodrama's based on fact.

The curtain falls just as the knot unties,

The silence broken by the one who dies.

As time goes on, many memories fade. Violet tying her hair up in a ribbon, to keep it out of her eyes, Klaus squinting at a book through his glasses, Sunny appearing on the radio to discuss her recipes - I don’t want these to be the only things I remember of the three most important people in my life.

I will love you as the iceberg loves the ship, and the passengers love the lifeboat and the lifeboat loves the teeth of the sperm whale, and the sperm whale loves the flavor of naval uniforms.