Name

The shape of her name,
sharp as metal filings,
gets caught between your teeth
even as you try to force it out
in a shout.
-- Jodi Picoult, "The Tenth Circle"

Marriage

The best decisions in a marriage
were based not on honesty

but on the number of casualties
that the truth might cause,

versus the number saved by ignorance.

--Jodi Picoult, "The Tenth Circle"

Tears

The tears you shed over a child
were not the same as any others.
They burned your throat and
your corneas. They left you blind.
-- Jodi Picoult, "The Tenth Circle"

Spirit

They had slept so close to each other
that their body heat would rise up
each night like a spirit on the ceiling,
and they'd wake up with the covers
kicked off on the floor.
-- Jodi Picoult, "The Tenth Circle"

Lovelife

She was forced to consider
the startling fact
that the love of her life
might not actually be someone
with whom she could spend a lifetime.
-- Jodi Picoult, "The Tenth Circle"

Miracle

It was possible
that a miracle
was not something
that happened to you,
but rather something
that didn't.
-- Jodi Picoult, "The Tenth Circle"