Everything the dead predicted has turned out
completely different.
Or a little bit different—which is to say,
completely different.

—From “The Letters of the Dead,” by Wislawa Szymborska (translated by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh)

I seek out the horror which, like history itself, can’t be stanched. I read everything I can. My eagerness for details is offensive.

—From Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels

And when there is the promise of a storm, if you want change
in your life, walk into it. If you get on the other side, you will
be different. And if you want change in your life and you are
avoiding the trouble, you can forget it. So … wade on in the
water; it’s going to really be troubled water.

—From Sweet Honey in the Rock, Live at Carnegie Hall, 1986,
introduction to “Wade In The Water” (traditional)