She whispered that a man could make an unknowing whore of any woman, even ladies, just by what was in his heart when he was with her. – Joseph Scapellato at The Collagist

We stood there, watching the rat wriggle through its death throes. Finally, the animal control guy looked at me and said, quietly, “cycle of life, man.” – Sam McPheeters at Loom of Ruin

To the dumb question “Why me?” the cosmos barely bothers to return the reply: Why not? – Christopher Hitchens on cancer at Vanity Fair

I have more ideas than I have time. The trick is picking the right idea, the thing that most needs to be made… I give every project as much time and thought as I can. I take every project to whatever extreme that I can find.I – Michael Kimball at Dark Sky Magazine

Perhaps now is the time to admit the possible has failed. The impossible remains. – Jeremy Schmall on David Berman at HTMLGiant

So I started playing football because I thought I was gay. – Scott McLanahan at Everyday Genius

I’m eating lard, I’m drinking vodka, I’m being really pretentious, talking about how Madame Bovary isn’t my favorite Flaubert novel, and then all of the sudden I explode! – Gary Shteyngart at The Paris Review

What often drives us to compassion or to live in a compassionate way—to advocate and agitate for things—is a desire to see a more equitable world. This is a wonderful thing and what makes us human is this: even though we know we may never get there we choose to keep living as though we can. – Chris Abani at Utne.

(O)ne thing no one shits about and everyone wants, freedom, that is, to burn, like in that other Eden, to drown, in a pool of septic eyesell, to stagger, like our Savior, through the walk of the innocent, or at least the not proven to be. – Vanessa Place at Everyday Genius

The electric charges sounded from the depths of her womb. She knew her eggs were black, her blood treacle dark and sticky. It matted pubic hairs and forged a metallic stink. Clump of womb. Deadly uterus. Tears. – Sara Crowley at PANK