“ He had green eyes, so I wanted to sleep with him. Green eyes flecked with yellow, dried leaves on the surface of a pool. You could drown in those eyes, I said. The fact of his pulse, the way he pulled… Richard Siken
“ Who am I? I'm just a writer. I write things down. I walk through your dreams and invent the future. Sure, I sink the boat of love, but that comes later. And yes, I swallow glass, but that comes later. Richard Siken
“ What is a ghost? Something dead that seems to be alive. Something dead that doesn't know it's dead. Richard Siken
“ How we rolled up the carpet so we could dance, and the days were bright red, and every time we kissed there was anotherappleto slice into pieces.Look at the light through the windowpane. That means it… Richard Siken
“ There is an empty space next to you in the backseat of the station wagon. Make it the shape of everything you need. Now say hello. Richard Siken
“ We clutch our bellies and roll on the floor...When I say this, it should mean laughter,not poison. Richard Siken
“ The blond boy in the red trunks is holding your head underwater because he is trying to kill you, and you deserve it, you do, and you know this, and you are ready to die in this swimming pool because… Richard Siken
“ There’s a dream in thespace between the hammer and the nail: the dream ofabout-to-be-hit, which is a bad dream, but the nail willtake the hit if it gets to sleep inside the wood forever. Richard Siken
“ Wanna make a monster? Take the parts of yourself that make you uncomfortable — your weaknesses, bad thoughts, vanities, and hungers — and pretend they’re across the room. It’s too ugly to be human. It… Richard Siken
“ Paint ghosts over everything, the sadness of everything. We made ourselves cold. We made ourselves snow. We smuggled ourselves into ourselves. Haunted by each other’s knowledge. To hide somewhere is n… Richard Siken
“ I wanted to explain myself to myself in an understandable way. I gave shape to my fears and made excuses. I varied my velocities, watched myselves sleep. Something's not right about what I'm doing but… Richard Siken
“ Dear Forgiveness, you know that recentlywe have had our difficulties and there are many thingsI want to ask you. Richard Siken
“ Here is the cake, and here is the fork, and here's the desire to put it inside us, and then the question behind every question: What happens next? Richard Siken
“ But damn if there isn't anything sexier than a slender boy with a handgun, a fast car, a bottle of pills. Richard Siken
“ You're trying not to tell him you love him, and you're trying to choke down the feeling, and you're trembling, but he reaches over and he touches you, like a prayer for which no words exist, and you f… Richard Siken
“ He could build a city. Has a certain capacity. There’s a niche in his chestwhere a heart would fit perfectlyand he thinks if he could just maneuver one into place –well then, game over. Richard Siken
“ A man walks into a bar and says: Take my wife–please. So you do. You take her out into the rain and you fall in love with her and she leaves you and you’re desolate.You’re on your back in your undersh… Richard Siken
