"contempt loves the silence it thrives in the dark with fine winding tendrils that strangle the heart they say that promises sweeten the blow but I don't need them no, I don't need them"

"take a look at my body look at my hands there's so much here that I don't understand"

"your face saving promises whispered like prayers I don't need them"

"don't spread the discontent don't spread the lies don't make the same mistakes with your own life"

"you've been so kind and generous I don't know how you keep on giving for your kindness I'm in debt to you for your selflessness, my admiration and for everything you've done you know I'm bound... I'm bound to thank you for it"

"people struggle, people fight for the simple pleasures in their lives but trouble comes from everywhere it's a little more than you can bear"

"I know that it will hurt I know that it will break your heart the way things are and the way they've been and the way they've always been"

"Ophelia's mind went wandering you'd wonder where she'd gone through secret doors down corridors she'd wander them alone"

"I want to thank you for so many gifts you gave with love and tenderness I want to thank you I want to thank you for your generosity the love and the honesty that you gave me"

"Ophelia was a circus queen the female cannonball projected through five flaming hoops to wild and shocked applause..."

"Ophelia was a cyclone, tempest a god damned hurricane your common sense your best defense lay wasted and in vain"

"Ophelia was a bride of god a novice Carmelite in sister cells the cloister bells tolled on her wedding night"

"people ruthless, people cruel see the damage that some people do full of hatred, full of pride it's enough to make you lose your mind"

"doctors have come from distant cities just to see me stand over my bed disbelieving what they're seeing they say I must be one of the wonders of god's own creation and as far as they can see they can offer no explanation"

"newspapers ask intimate questions want confessions they reach into my head to steal the glory of my story"

"have I been blind have I been lost inside myself and my own mind hypnotized mesmerized by what my eyes have seen?"

"So their eyes are growing hazy 'cause they want to turn it on so their minds are soft and lazy Well, hey, give 'em what they want"

"I've walked these streets in the mad house asylum they can be where a wild eyed misfit prophet on a traffic island stopped and he raved of saving me"

"If lust and hate is the candy if blood and love tastes so sweet then we give 'em what they want Hey, hey, give 'em what they want"

"people see me I'm a challenge to your balance I'm over your heads how I confound you and astound you"

"these are days you'll remember"

"you'll know it's true, that you are blessed and lucky it's true, that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you"

"let me have a look inside these eyes while I'm learning please don't hide them just because of tears"

"o, I believe fate smiled and destiny laughed as she came to my cradle know this child will be able laughed as she came to my mother know this child will not suffer laughed as my body she lifted know this child will be gifted with love, with patience and with faith she'll make her way"

"trouble me disturb me with all your cares and you worries trouble me on the days when you feel spent"

"they told you life is hard it's misery from the start it's dull and slow and painful I tell you life is sweet in spite of the misery there's so much more be grateful"

"speak to me don't mislead me, the calm I feel means a storm is swelling there's no telling where it starts or how it ends"

"hey Jack now for the tricky part when you were the brightest star who were the shadows? of the San Francisco beat boys you were the favorite now they sit and rattle their bones and think of their blood stoned days"

"these days you might feel a shaft of light make its way across your face and when you do you'll know how it was meant to be see the signs and know their meaning"

"the color of the sky as far as I can see is coal gray lift my head from the pillow and then fall again with a shiver in my bones just thinking about the weather a quiver in my lips as if I might cry"

"what a cold and rainy day where on earth is the sun hid away?"

"these sobering sights I've seen in the City of Angels have all been one rude awakening that was due to me in this city of fallen angels"

"see them walking, if you dare if you call that walking stumble, stagger, fall and drag themselves along the streets of heaven"

"where is the halo that should glow 'round your face and where are the wings that should grow from your shoulder blades?"

"heaven, is this heaven where we are?"

"don't talk, I will listen don't talk, you keep your distance I'd rather hear some truth tonight than entertain your lies"

"If I could calm or restrain you for the sake of pity save the pistol save the cynic's tongue save the cool white stare treat me to an honest face sometime"

"I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses he's their kid I stay out of it, but who gave you the right to do this?"

"I saw my first Henry Darger collage/paintings in the early 1980’s when the tale of Henry’s life was just emerging through rumor and scattered fragments of his book. He lived and died a recluse in Chicago where no one knew of his writings or paintings. There was a folk art gallery in New Orleans that had acquired a small pile of Realms of the Unreal illustrations. I was on tour with REM at the time, Michael Stipe and I visited the gallery where we had a first look at these images of seven little horrified girls pursued by a purple and orange winged cats or evil professors on horseback or resting peacefully under giant sunflowers. I was completely captivated and intrigued."

"talk, talk, talk about it you talk as if you care but when your talk is over tilt that bottle in the air tossing back more than your share"

"For the time being I am enjoying my chance to enjoy civilian life off the road. If I combined all the months that I have lived out of a van or tour bus it would amount to twelve solid years. That would be twelve years of driving or flying an average of 100 to 400 miles per day and sleeping in a different city every night. It was a very unique lifestyle that I adapted to and even enjoyed with it’s surreal pace. It’s also a lifestyle that can take a toll on the body and relationships with the people that you are constantly leaving behind."

"I think many people have been made curious about Henry Darger because of the song on my album Motherland. Henry Darger (1892-1973) was the author and illustrator of what could possibly be the longest unfinished fictional work of all time. His towering hand-bound manuscript of 17,000 pages was found in this obscure retired hospital janitor’s apartment after his death. Henry worked in obsessed isolation for six decades on his saga entitled, The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion."

"I don’t want to overdo discussing my experience of motherhood, its too private and profound to parade around. I will say that carrying a child, giving birth to a child and raising that child up has made me feel more engaged and connected to others. I have a greater understanding of people (living past & present). We all begin so pure, so innocent and so hungry for physical and emotional comfort. It’s so important that every baby be generously cherished, fed and comforted. I can see now how withholding these essentials can do irreparable damage. Now (post-baby) when I encounter a sad or aggressive character, I wonder what the first three years of his or her life were like. Imaging them alone, crying in their cribs has given me much more compassion."

"threats like, "if you don't mind I will beat on your behind" "slap you, slap you silly" made me say, "o, what's the matter here?""

"My drug period was between the age of 17 and 18. That was a time when I was experimenting with a lot of things, I was experimenting with sleep deprivation, fasting. The longest fast I ever did was 12 days. You go that long without food and you hallucinate. I would take this powder made out of guarana seed, my friend Mary would bake it up like cocoa in muffins and leave them on my doorstep. My drinking period was when I was 13, 14. Drugs fascinated me for a short period of time but not any more. A glass of wine puts me in a weird enough state."