was anything ever real

— Lailah Gifty Akita

Mary Oliver, from Long Life: Essays And Other Writings originally published in 2004

The Early Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1920–1923

a friendship based with love purely for the sake of Allah (ﷻ) is the purest.

Surah Duha teaches that difficulties and challenges are a normal part of life and that one should have faith and trust in Allah during these times. It also conveys the promise of Allah's reward for those who are patient and steadfast in the face of adversity.

Mahmoud Darwish, Memory for Forgetfulness: August, Beirut, 1982 (trans. Ibrahim Muhawi) [ID'd]

Rati Saxena, ed. by Kate Rogers and Viki Holmes, from Not a Muse: The Inner Lives of Women: A World Poetry Anthology; "Mountain nights"

— Charles Bukowski

"Coffee should not be drunk in a hurry. It is the sister of time, and should be sipped slowly, slowly. Coffee is the sound of taste, a sound for the aroma. It is a meditation and a plunge into memories and the soul."

-Mahmoud Darwish, from Memory for Forgetfulness: August, Beirut, 1982 (tr. Ibrahim Muhawi)

you do not miss them btw. you miss the version of them you created in your head to which they never lived up to

“mene shadi isi liye nahi ki kay mei apni zindagi mei ek aise shakhs ko shamil karlun jo khuda bann kar mere har amal ko judge kare

mere liye yeh toheen ka bais hai kay voh ek ahmakana baat par mujhpar shak kar raha hai aur toheen se zyada yeh mere liye takleef day hai.”