Kamand Kojouri

"Life is a concept, like the “universe", that expands as soon as we reach what we think is its edge."

"First, create your ego. Then destroy it. This is all of life."

"Embrace contradictions for they make upall of life:You will eternally be looking for yourself andseeking ways to lose yourself."

"We exist only to exist."

"If on any given day you don't cry from rejoicing in the beauty of the world, then you have not lived that day."

"You must be more alive than life. You must see darkness danceand hear silence sing. You must be more awake than lightfor we aren’t born sleepingand we shouldn’t live sleeping. Only then will death’s slumberbecome sweet."

"O woman, father says natural is beautifulso why do you redden your cheeks and blacken your eyes?Why do you remove the hair on your legsand draw them into your brows?Why do you hold your breathlest your stomach showand hold your fartlest they knowthat you’re a human? O woman, father says natural is beautifulso why do you straighten your hairto curl it nextand pretend to orgasm so they think you enjoyed the sex?Why do you dumb yourself downand push your breasts up?Why do you smile when you’re told toand love when you don’t want to?When? When will you stop, woman? Father says natural is beautifulbut that is doubtfulfor what does father knowhe’s only a fellow."

"Take me when I'm wild. Take me when I'm free. Take me for meand I will take you as you want to be."

"If you wait until you find something to speak up for, something that you’re passionate about that concerns you and attacks your own beliefs, then eventually, when the day finally arrives, you might also find that you have forgotten how to speak."

"What happens when I love, you ask, does the world start making sense? No, my dear, it does not. But it won’t matter to you then."

"How freeing of a thought: instead of worrying about leaving a legacy, to leave no trace of one's existence. How liberating indeed!"

"I don’t know why we fight. It takes much too effort to stay mad at you. To dodge your skin in the hallwayand leave the kitchen without bringing you a treat. It takes much too effort to stare at the sinkso my eyes don’t smile at you in the mirror. It takes much too effort to look away as we undressand lie apart in the now bigger bed. It takes much too effort to stiffen my bodybecause sleepy limbs forget fightsand pride is always lost in dreams. It takes much too effort to awaken every hour to make sure we are islands with a gulf of white sheets separating us. I dread the light peeking through the parted curtainsand empathise with your groans —I didn’t get any sleep either. I really don’t know why we fight. It takes much too effort to stay mad at one anotherwhen it’s so easy for us to love."

"For all these stars,nothing is new. They’ve seen all kinds of warsand miracles, too. They know the messengers with their holy bookswill smile and wash their hands in blood. They know the politicians with their good lookswill make the poor eat pies of mud. They’ve seen the Earth freeze and then burn with greed. They’ve seen the treesand the seas emptied. Yet, you won’t hear their sneerswhen a man arrivesand, having experienced a number of years,proclaims: 'I have lived!'Because nothing is new under these stars:the lies, the love, the memories and scars, the ruin, the revolution, the fakes and true,the families, the friends, none of it is new. All of it—even the me and you."

"Do not avert your eyes. It is important that you see this. It is important that you feelthis."

"Let my silence grow with noise as pregnant mothers grow with life. Let my silence permeate these walls as sunlight permeates a home. Let the silence rise from unwatered graves and craters left by bombs. Let the silence rise from empty bellies and surge from broken hearts. The silence of the hidden and forgotten. The silence of the abused and tortured. The silence of the persecuted and imprisoned. The silence of the hanged and massacred. Loud as all the sounds can be, let my silence be loud so the hungry may eat my words and the poor may wear my words. Loud as all the sounds can be, let my silence be loud so I may resurrect the dead and give voice to the oppressed. My silence speaks."

"If you can love one person, you can love everyone."

"Share yourself with me. I will never judge you. I am here and I will stay here only to love you."

"Love is our most basic human value and also our highest potential."

"I never wanted to be a martyr—even for love. I don’t want to die for love. I want to live for it."

"The reason as to why we are attracted to our opposites is because they are our salvation from the burden of being ourselves."