"From 'the lesson of the moth':and before i could argue himout of his philosophyhe went and immolated himselfon a patent cigar lighteri do not agree with himmyself i would rather havehalf the happiness..."
- Don Marquis
"a spider and a flyi heard a spiderand a fly arguingwait said the flydo not eat mei serve a great purposein the worldyou will have toshow me said the spideri scurry aroundgutters and sewersand garbage ..."
"Publishing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo."
"i have had my ups and downsbut wotthehell wotthehellyesterday sceptres and crownsfried oysters and velvet gownsand today i herd with bumsbut wotthehell wotthehelli wake the world from sleepas i caper ..."
"If you want to get rich from writing, write the sort of thing that's read by persons who move their lips when they're reading to themselves."
"With regard to ghosts, while we have never believed in them, we have always been afraid of them."
"fire is beautifuland we know that if we gettoo close it will kill usbut what does that matterit is better to be happy for a momentand be burned up with beautythan to live a long timeand be bored all t..."
"When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: 'Whose?"
"Every honorable man is forced to yield to blackmail once or twice in his life, just for the sake of keeping peace in the community."
"If a child shows himself to be incorrigible, he should be decently and quietly beheaded at the age of twelve, lest he grow to maturity, marry, and perpetuate his kind."