Once I held your face in my hands, I saw through space. Franz Wright —— Let me look at you. Let me look at you in a light that takes years to get here. Solmaz Sharif

The circle Chanhee's standing in has the last stanza of Goethe's poem 'Prometheus' (translated to English): Here sit I, forming mortals After my image; A race resembling me, To suffer, to weep, To enjoy, to be glad, And thee to scorn, As I.

What keeps us going, ultimately, is our love for each other, and our refusal to bow our heads, to accept the verdict, however all-powerful it seems. It’s what ordinary people have to do. You have to love each other. Mike Davis

May nothing of me remain except the happiness of the one who knocked and for whom the door was opened. Alejandra Pizarnik —— I knew: we would be so terribly happy. Our work would be simple. Chen Chen

Just at the moment I thought we were lost I’d stopped to look around, hoping to see something I recognized. And there it was. Ted Kooser —— Shall we stick by each other as long as we live? Walt Whitman

Friendship is the prose of love. Adam Zagajewski

I think it’s wonderful to be just like everybody else, to reach out and find you. F.  Scott Fitzgerald —— There you are, and I am very glad of it. I love you tenderly. Gustave Flaubert

But for the most part, love is a recognition, an opportunity to say, there is something about you I cherish. Raymond E. Feist —— oh god what joy you're here Frank O'Hara

Against your cheek, my hand is warm / and full of tenderness. Louise Glück —— And if you had a bad week just let me touch your cheek. Maggie Rogers

That's the real gift, I think […] I am not just one person. I am multiple versions of a person. And some of those versions of myself have been loved immensely by people who were so incredible, and through their loving of me, I have a richer texture. Hanif Abdurraqib

And your head on my shoulder. These the happiest moments in the day. Raymond Carver

I don’t dream of someone who understands me immediately, who seems to have known me my entire life, who says, I know me too. I want someone keen to learn my own strange organization, amazed at what’s revealed; someone who asks, and then what, and then what? Elizabeth McCracken

May you always know pain as temporary and laughter better. […] May the greatest gift you receive be more than just a life, but a life so full of love and joy that it is worth living. Nikita Gill