Alys Rivers Quotes

Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams — they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do — they all contain truths

And it was always the stories that needed the telling that gave us the rope we could cross any river with. They balanced us high above any crevasse. They made us be natural acrobats. They made us brave. They met us well. They changed us. It was in their nature to.

I had not known, before us, that every vein in my body was capable of carrying light, like a river seen from a train makes a channel of sky etch itself deep into a landscape. I had not really known I could be so much more than myself. I had not known another body could do this to mine.

My life was fine. My job was fine. My house was fine. My friends were fine. God, I was sick of fucking fine. I needed something--anything--to be great.

I stride to the ring where Cole and River are still hammering at each other. I remove my shirt and drop it to the floor. "Woo-hoo," Ali calls. "Take it all off.

And when all was done and all was said, we sat silently staring at the moon's reflection on the rippling river, soaking it all in. The differences between people, cultures and times. The monsters. The myths. The heroes. The victims. The love and loss. Loss and love.

What’s your last name”… “Rivers.” “Shut up. I’m serious.” “So am I … Just think how fun your name would be if we got married.” I winked. She glared. “What? Too soon?

Elsewhere there are no mobile phones. Elsewhere sleep is deep and the mornings are wonderful. Elsewhere art is endless, exhibitions are free and galleries are open twenty-four hours a day. Elsewhere alcohol is a joke that everybody finds funny. Elsewhere everybody is as welcoming as they’d be if you’d come home after a very long time away and they’d really missed you. Elsewhere nobody stops you in the street and says, are you a Catholic or a Protestant, and when you say neither, I’m a Muslim, then says yeah but are you a Catholic Muslim or a Protestant Muslim? Elsewhere there are no religions. Elsewhere there are no borders. Elsewhere nobody is a refugee or an asylum seeker whose worth can be decided about by a government. Elsewhere nobody is something to be decided about by anybody. Elsewhere there are no preconceptions. Elsewhere all wrongs are righted. Elsewhere the supermarkets don’t own us. Elsewhere we use our hands for cups and the rivers are clean and drinkable. Elsewhere the words of the politicians are nourishing to the heart. Elsewhere charlatans are known for their wisdom. Elsewhere history has been kind. Elsewhere nobody would ever say the words bring back the death penalty. Elsewhere the graves of the dead are empty and their spirits fly above the cities in instinctual, shapeshifting formations that astound the eye. Elsewhere poems cancel imprisonment. Elsewhere we do time differently. Every time I travel, I head for it. Every time I come home, I look for it.

I went outside mournful, and I hit pure air. The air was full of birdsong. I went outside expecting rain but it was sunny, it was so suddenly, so openly sunny, with so sharp a spring light coming off the river, that I went down the side of the riverbank and sat in among the daffodils.

Palming each side of her face, I dropped my forehead to hers. “I’m going to make things awkward. It’s kinda what I do. Just bear with me.” She licked her lips, and I was forced to kiss her again. When I finally came back up for air, I continued. “My name is Samuel Nathan Rivers. I’m twenty-seven. Aquarius. No criminal history. I have a clean bill of health. I’m a democrat, but for God’s sake, do not tell my mom. I own a furniture shop and clear six figures a year. I’m not interested in your money. I’ll show you my tax return if need be. I’m also not a super-fan interested in your fame. But, for the love of all that’s holy, I need you to come home with me.

Mess up my climate, I’ll fuck with your lives. Your lives are a nothing to me. I’ll yank daffodils out of the ground in December. I’ll block up your front door in April with snow and blow down that tree so it cracks your roof open. I’ll carpet your house with the river. But I’ll be the reason your own sap’s reviving. I’ll mainline the light to your veins.

Ali ne smemo nikad smetnuti s uma da je duhovno iskustvo Ljubavi. A u Ljubavi ne postoje pravila. Mozemo pokusavati da se pridrzavamo prirucnika, da vladamo svojim srcem, da izgradimo strategiju ponasanja-ali sve su to kojestarije. Srce odlucuje, i to sto ono odluci, jedino i vazi.

One can speak best through stories. Things only come alive in this way. This is because such things are the children of our experiences. They are conceived during big events in our lives, born when we begin to reflect on those incidents and then grow with us as our appreciation for the memories that brought them into being also lives and thrives.

Srinagar hunches like a wild cat: lonely sentries, wretched in bunkers at the city’s bridges, far from their homes in the plains, licensed to kill . . . while the Jhelum flows under them, sometimes with a dismembered body. On Zero Bridge the jeeps rush by. The candles go out as travelers, unable to light up the velvet Void. What is the blesséd word? Mandelstam gives no clue. One day the Kashmiris will pronounce that word truly for the first time.

After sealing the door, Alqash went to the river to cleanse the blood from his hands and the dagger, and also to wash his hands of the faith that he had forfeited in exchange for short-lived riches.

As you circumambulate and move closer to Kaaba, you feel like a small stream merging with a big river. As you approach the center, the pressure of the crowd squeezes you so hard that you are given a new life. You are now a part of the people; you are now a man alive and eternal!

I knew then what harmony meant: what belonging was. Just like a raindrop joining in the fun at the big river. I was the little raindrop, and she was the river.

The River', a poem from 'Profound Vers-A-Tales': Your perception of my exterior may not match what lies beneath the surface.

Šutjela je kad je trebala govoriti, govorila je kad je trebala šutjeti. Ovako ili onako, krivnja je njezina najvjernija družica. I kajanje, ali ne toliko zbog onog što je učinila, koliko zbog propusta da nešto učini.

The Kalambo River and Waterfall exemplify life and afterlife: From birth at its source, the river twists and turns to overcome hurdles on its way to enhance the life of others before falling off the edge in death to flow quietly into Lake Tanganyika, while it's mist rises to heaven, freed from the burden of the body of water that held it.

Whether it was on the bridge or in a hospital room not even two hours ago, your tears have always told me the truth.” I dropped my damp thumb to her lips. “These are not as honest. Don’t tell me you’re fine. Don’t tell me you have to go. Don’t tell me that everything is okay. Just tell me the truth your eyes are so desperate for me to hear.

Treba se izlagati opasnostima - govorio je. Čudo života možemo istinski razumeti jedino ako dopustimo da se dogodi nešto neočekivano. Svakoga dana Gospod nam daruje - zajedno sa suncem - jedan trenutak kada je moguće izmeniti sve ono što nas čini nesrećnim. Svakoga dana nastojimo da obmanemo sami sebe kako nismo prepoznali taj trenutak, kako on ne postoji, kako je današnji dan istovetan jučerašnjem i kako će biti jednak sutrašnjem. Ali, onaj ko obrati pažnju na dan koji traje, otkriva čarobni trenutak. On može biti sakriven u času kad izjutra otključavamo vrata, u onoj kratkotrajnoj tišini koja naglo nastupi posle ručka, u hiljadu i jednoj stvari koje nam izgledaju isto. Taj trenutak postoji - trenutak kad nas sva snaga zvezda namah prožme i omogući nam da činimo čuda. Sreća je ponekad blagoslov, ali najčešće osvajanje. Čarobni trenutak koji se javlja svakoga dana pomaže nam da se menjamo, navodi nas da se upustimo u potragu za svojim snovima

Are those chocolate chip?'' Cole reaches her first and claims one. ''Oh, my godness.'' Nana sets the tray aside and coos the guy. ''Cole, dear, you have a boulder-size knot on your jaw.'' ''River did it.'' Cole smirks at the guy. ''And he insulted my mom. And my dad.'' ''River Marks.'' Nana shakes her head, as if her heart is acually breaking. ''How could you be so rough? And so insensitive!'' River glares at Cole before bowing his head. ''I'm sorry, Nana.'' ''The human body is like a flower. Treat it well, and it will bloom.'' She approaches the ring and extends two cookies. River and I accept with eager thanks. ''Let's be kind to each other and keep our punches away from the face and groin.'' ''Yes, ma'am,'' we say in unison. Then of course, we devour the offering as if we've never tasted sugar. ''Good, good.'' She brushes the crumbs from her fingers. ''I'll leave you kids to your practice.'' She kisses Ali, then Cole, and leaves. ''Are you a rose?'' River sneers at Cole. ''Or a lilly?'' ''Orchid. And your jealousy is showing.'' Cole responds.

We stopped. Aly looked back the way we’d come. “Cass? Where are we headed?” Cass glanced around. “Actually . . . I’m not sure. I lost the map in the river.” “Don’t play games,” Aly snapped. “You don’t need it. You know the route.” “I did,” Cass said. “But . . . it’s not there, Aly. In my brain. I can’t call it up.” “What do you mean, not there?” Aly said. “If you’re being insecure again, like you were in Babylon, now’s the time to stop.” Cass’s eyes were hollow and scared. “I don’t feel insecure. This is so strange . . .” I looked at him closely. “Cass, can you say ‘River Nostalgikos’ backward?” “Nostalgikos . . . River?” Cass said. “Oh, dear,” Professor Bhegad muttered. “Cass, you had the ability to say anything backward, letter for letter,” Aly said. “You called it Backwardish.” Cass swallowed hard. “Dishwardback?” “The river . . .” Professor Bhegad said. “It took the ability from him.” “Skilaki warned us,” Aly said softly. “She said the river required a sacrifice . . .

But it hasn’t gone at all. And that’s why it’s better than gold. It hasn’t gone, it’s just that we can’t see it any more. In fact, it’s still going, still growing. It’ll never stop going, or growing wider and wider, the ring you saw. You were lucky to see it at all. Cause when it got to the edge of the puddle it left the puddle and entered the air instead, it went invisible. A marvel. Didn’t you feel it go through you? No? But it did, you’re inside it now. I am too. We both are. And the yard. And the brickpiles. And the sandpiles. And the firing shed. And the houses. And the horses, and your father, your uncle, and your brothers, and the workmen, and the street. And the other houses. And the walls, and the gardens and houses, the churches, the palace tower, the top of the cathedral, the river, the fields behind us, the fields way over there, see? See how far your eye can go. See the tower and the houses in the distance? It’s passing through them and nothing and nobody will feel a thing but there it is doing it nonetheless. And imagine it circling the fields and the farms we can’t see from here. And the towns beyond those fields and farms all the way to the sea. And across the sea. The ring you saw in the water’ll never stop travelling till the edge of the world and then when it reaches the edge it’ll go beyond that too. Nothing can stop it. She looked down into the horse piss.

Yes, monsieur, I believe so; for until now, no man has found himself in a position similar to mine. The dominions of kings are limited either by mountains or rivers, or a change of manners, or an alteration of language. My kingdom is bounded only by the world, for I am not an Italian, or a Frenchman, or a Hindu, or an American, or a Spaniard—I am a cosmopolite. No country can say it saw my birth. God alone knows what country will see me die. I adopt all customs, speak all languages. You believe me to be a Frenchman, for I speak French with the same facility and purity as yourself. Well, Ali, my Nubian, believes me to be an Arab; Bertuccio, my steward, takes me for a Roman; Haydée, my slave, thinks me a Greek. You may, therefore, comprehend, that being of no country, asking no protection from any government, acknowledging no man as my brother, not one of the scruples that arrest the powerful, or the obstacles which paralyze the weak, paralyzes or arrests me. I have only two adversaries—I will not say two conquerors, for with perseverance I subdue even them,—they are time and distance. There is a third, and the most terrible—that is my condition as a mortal being. This alone can stop me in my onward career, before I have attained the goal at which I aim, for all the rest I have reduced to mathematical terms. What men call the chances of fate—namely, ruin, change, circumstances—I have fully anticipated, and if any of these should overtake me, yet it will not overwhelm me. Unless I die, I shall always be what I am, and therefore it is that I utter the things you have never heard, even from the mouths of kings—for kings have need, and other persons have fear of you. For who is there who does not say to himself, in a society as incongruously organized as ours, 'Perhaps some day I shall have to do with the king's attorney'?

I was just saying goodnight.” Logan quipped and pecked Sienna on the cheek before slipping something in to her hand. She looked down to see it was a sleek new cellphone. He turned to leave but Mrs. Rivers interrupted him. “Your fly is undone.” She told him grimly giving him her the full extent of her medusa glare. If looks could kill, Mrs. Rivers had homicide down to a science. When had that happened? Sienna thought. Probably sometime when they were too busy pressing themselves against each other. Sienna was mortified. Logan however looked mildly amused. He zipped up his trousers and quietly thanked her. “Oh and Logan, you left your souvenir behind.” She added now giving Sienna the full extent of the medusa glare. Logan and Sienna both frowned momentarily before realizing what she meant. He snatched the condom and put it back in his pocket and quickly left the house leaving Sienna to battle with the Gorgon.

I groan and squeeze my eyes shut. I know what happens when people make an effort to care about others: they get taken advantage of, and then they get hurt. Ali is already bumming a ride with me, so I should draw the line there. There’s no need for me to do anything else for her. But I want to. I want to help her in every way possible, and that can only lead to trouble. Although, if the trouble came in a form as sweet as Ali, it might be worth it . . .

Tijelo me boljelo. Mislio sam na Irene. Tako je bilo svakog jutra. Probudim se i mislim na nju. Događalo bi se da se probudim s osjećajem da je isparila iz mene tijekom noći. Ali odmah zatim ona bi se ponovo uvlačila i cijelog me ispunila, kao da je na meni postojala rupa koju nikako nisam uspijevao začepiti.

We were approaching the Sudd. For thousands of years this giant swamp—more than fifty thousand square miles, as big as England—had repelled invaders from the lands to the north. The British explorer Samuel Baker described it as “a vast sea of papyrus ferns and rotting vegetation, and in that fetid heat there is a spawning tropical life that can hardly have altered very much since the beginning of the world.” In 61 AD the Roman emperor Nero, who controlled Egypt, dispatched troops up the river to find the source of the Nile. They returned with reports of “immense marshes” that were too dense for all but the smallest of one-man canoes. It wasn’t until eighteen hundred years later that a Turkish naval captain, operating under orders from the Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ali, was able to penetrate the swamp, reaching as far as Gondokoro. Slaves and ivory were soon flowing north on the Nile. This was the beginning of what Dinka lore calls the time when “the world was spoiled.

Talvin Singh, Thievery Corporation, A.R. Rahman, AmarBaaba Maal, Asian Dub Foundation, Autechre, Badmarsh and Sri, Bjork, Black Star Liner, The Blue Nile, Boards of Canada, The Chemical Brothers, Dead Can Dance, The Fake Portishead, Future Sound of London, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Goldfrapp, Jamyang, Joi, Jeff Buckley, Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham: original movie soundtrack, Nitin Sawhney, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rakesh Chaurasia, Sigur Rós, State of Bengal.

Ali had had four wives and sixteen children, not counting the six who died as youngsters. "I'm so sorry," I said, wincing at the magnitude of his loss. "It was a long time ago," he said, puzzled by my concern. "Are you married?" he asked. "How long?" Six years, no children, I told him, adding, "But that will probably change next year." "How do you know?" "What?" "How do you know it will change? It is on God's hands." "Well, some practices will start and others will stop," I said. He gasped. "It's wrong. You are killing the eggs, the sperm." "You know," I said, "the female body ejects its eggs every month." "Yes," he said, gripping the table's edge, "but the sperm! They must move freely. You mustn't hold them back. It's murder!

The river was lined with churches, as if to prove that decent people still believed in things. Maybe they did. Maybe they thought it made a difference, all the ritual marryings and christenings and confirmings and funereals, all the centuries of asking, in their different churches each filled with the same cold air off the mountains and the Firth, for things to reveal themselves as having meaning after all, for some proof the world was held in larger hands than human hands. I’d be happy, myself, I thought as I sat in the wet grass with my hands in the warmth still inside my shoes, just to know that the world was a berry in the beak of a bird, or was nothing more than a slab of sloped grassy turf like this, fished out of cosmic nothingness one beautiful spring morning by some meaningless creature or other. That would do. That would do fine. It would be fine, just to know that for sure.

Ovaj je svijet škola, a mi smo njegovi učenici. Dok prolazimo krug kroz njega, svatko od nas nešto nauči. Neki nauče ljubav i dobrotu. Drugi, bojim se, grubost i okrutnost. Ali najbolji su učenici koji iz svojih susreta s nedaćama i surovošću nauče velikodušnost i suosjećanje. Oni koji izaberu ne nanijeti drugima patnje koji su sami pretrpjeli. A ono što naučiš, sa sobom nosiš u grob.

I loro spiriti battevano sul mio come le ali di mille farfalle. Chiudevo gli occhi e avvertivo i loro spiriti vibrare. Chiudevo gli occhi, pure sapevo quando le loro ciglia frangiavano dagli occhi abbassati le gote, e quando giravano la testa: e quando gli abiti aderivano a loro, o ricadevano in squisiti drappeggi. I loro spiriti osservano la mia estasi con sguardi ampi di stellare indifferenza. I loro spiriti guardavano la mia tortura; la bevevano come fosse l'acqua della vita; con le gote arrossate, gli occhi illuminati la fiamma ascendente della mia anima indorava i loro spiriti, come le ali di una farfalla che all'improvviso varca la luce del sole. E invocavano da me la vita, vita, vita. Ma prendendo la vita per me stesso, afferrando e schiacciando le loro anime, come un bambino schiaccia l'uva e beve dalle sue palme il succo purpureo, venni in questo vuoto senz'ali, dove né rosso, né oro, né il vino, né il ritmo della vita sono noti.

We all have the same God, we just serve him differently. Rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, oceans all have different names, but they all contain water. So do religions have different names, and they all contain truth, expressed in different ways forms and times. It doesn't matter whether you're a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew. When you believe in God, you should believe that all people are part of one family. If you love God, you can't love only some of his children.

My hand trembled against his, and all my exhaustion turned to anger. My pulse hammered, causing my blood to boil until I couldn’t take it anymore. I ripped my hand away from him. “I’m not Casey. I’m Ali! Yes, we look alike, but we’re two different people! Why is that so hard for everyone to see?” The other boys gaped at me, their attention ripped away from the river and now focused on me. Liam’s mouth dropped open, and a vivid blush crept over his cheeks. “Ali, I’m so sorry,” he stammered. “With your hair down, I was sure you were Casey.” My cheeks flamed as each of the boys waited for my response. Tears sprang to my eyes. I didn’t

In Surah 45 of the Quran, Allah allegedly says, “Indeed, within the heavens and earth are signs for the believers.” These signs include the “alternation of night and day,” life on the earth from the “sky of provision,” and the “directing of the winds.” And verse 13:3 speaks of how Allah “spread the Earth and placed therein firmly set mountains and rivers,” and then made “two mates” from “all of the fruits.” “Indeed in that there are signs,” warns the verse, “for a people who give thought.

for I did make mistakes and sometimes a body would be despoiled. I even had to throw one that was too far gone into the river.

Sienna Rivers, ex-nerd, undisputed reigning chess champion of the class of 09 and the proverbial all round wise-ass degenerate pain in your backside.

under the command of General Ali Haydar, besieged the city for 27 days, bombarding it with heavy artillery and tank [fire], before invading it and killing 30,000 or 40,000 of the city's citizens – in addition to the 15,000 missing who have not been found to this day, and the 100,000 expelled.