51 Quotes by Paul Monette

They looked at me, in my hippie garb, with horror and disgust, the Decline of Western Civilisation suddenly plopped in their midst.

Love and fuck in the same breath, even if it’s your last.

I’ve never quite understood the double Janus face of bi – Janus, the Roman god of gates and doors, especially closets.

For it turned out there were closets within the closet, and a lingering self-hatred that even the joy of connection couldn’t solve. What love gives you is the courage to face the secrets you’ve kept from yourself, a reason to open the rest of the doors.

Apparently long hair was enough to make you a faggot in Chicago in ’68.

Go without hate, but not without rage. Heal the world.

Self pity becomes your oxygen. But you learned to breathe it without a gasp. So, nobody even notices you’re hurting.

The struggle for true openness and intimacy is a lifelong struggle for all of us, gay and straight alike. And besides, a difficult life brings you to the core of yourself, where you learn what justice is and how it has to be fought for.

Some of the agonies that burn in the heart forever begin as brief as snapshots.