I Feel That I Speak

Mama, I Know You Used To Ride The Bus. Riding The Bus, And It’s Hot And Bumpy And Crowded And Too Noisy, And More Than Anything Else In The World, You Wanna Get Off. And The Only Reason In The World You Don’t Get Off Is It’s Still Fifty Blocks From Where You’re Going. Well, I Can Get Off Right Now If I Want To. Because Even If I Ride Fifty More Years And Get Off Then, It’s Still The Same Place When I Step Down To It. Whenever I Feel Like It, I Can Get Off. Whenever I’ve Had Enough, It’s My Stop. I’ve Had Enough.

After I Won The Pulitzer, There Was This Sense Of, 'ok, That's Enough For You. Now Go Away.' What I Wanted Was To Keep Writing, Keep Working. But No One Would Produce Anything Of Mine They Didn't Think Would Be As Big As ''night, Mother.'

If Someone Wants To Say 'i Love You' In A Straight Play, They Say It, And Then It's The Other Person's Turn To Talk. But In A Song, You Can Sing About It For Another Three Minutes. The Musical Form Has That Unique Opportunity To Express At Length What Joy Really Feels Like.

During The Day, Our Souls Gather Their ... Impressions Of Us, How Our Lives Feel. ... Our Spirits Collect These Impressions, Keep Them Together, Like Wisps Of Smoke In A Bag. Then, When We're Asleep, Our Brains Open Up These Bags Of Smoke ... And Take A Look.

Family Is Just Accident.... They Don't Mean To Get On Your Nerves. They Don't Even Mean To Be Your Family, They Just Are.