Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away Quotes

“Sometimes, things fall apart...so we can put them together in a new way. It is time to make things right.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“Sometimes we see only what we want to show ourselves.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“We must row in whatever boat we find ourselves in.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“If one imitates the upright, one becomes upright. If one imitates the crooked, one becomes crooked.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“An owl is the wisest of all birds because the more it sees the the less it talks.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“There is nothing more powerful in the world than a naked woman.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“..there are two possible endings to every story.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“No daughter and mother ever live apart, no matter what the distance between them.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“Beauty found a way to grow in the ugliest of places.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“I wished for someone to hold me up. Suddenly someone was there.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“Sometimes words are more powerful than guns. And sometimes silence is more powerful than words. It is the things that are not said that are important.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“A person becomes part of their surroundings.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“Some things you cannot stop happening.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“Some things are more than we can understand.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“When looking at her I imagine my childhood and I live it all over again. Having children is getting to live two lives.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“...pride for men is like love for women. Very strong. The most important thing for men is pride.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“The words were out. The truth was hanging in the air..”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“I danced out my pain...It felt like praying, like flying.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“Sometimes the sky is too blue.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“I am so happy, to be your mama.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“Sometimes even if you think something is wrong, it must be done.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“I always want her to know she is loved. But I will make my own mistakes, I know. I can only hope that she will forgive me for those; forgiveness is all a parent can hope for.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“At first I had not understood Mama. But as I grew older, maybe not wiser, certainly more realistic, I realized she did the best she could. She loved me, in her own way. Not everyone is born to be a mother. It does not come naturally to some women.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“We want justice! We want justice!’ We chanted at the Western Oil Company building; the mirrored glass showed our reflections multiplied as though we were millions. This gave us courage and we shouted louder, even when the men with guns also multiplied. Then we started singing. I copied the women around me as closely as possible. Grandma had taught me many songs but I did not know that one. We sang in unison, like a choir that had been practising all year for that one song. Grandma started it. It was an Ijaw song called Wo Ekilemo. Praise him. Her voice was low and quiet, but one by one we joined in. The sound of us women singing was so powerful that the glass moved on the expensive windows, and people inside the building started shutting the windows, even the high-up ones. The slams made us sing even louder. I imagined the white men on the other side of the windows, watching us as they drank their tea. I wondered if they understood why we were protesting. I wondered if they even cared. The security men waving their guns started swaying, as if their bodies were disobeying their commands. They were Ijaw, too, you see. They removed their hats, and rocked from side to side. I sang loudly until the part that said ‘I have overcome death, poverty and sickness’. I could not sing that part. My mind kept flashing to Ezikiel’s face. But then I joined in again, and our voices rose so high I thought they might reach Allah’s ears. Then we all took off our clothes. ‘There is nothing more powerful than a naked woman,’ Grandma said. ‘Nothing in the world.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“El jardín estaba lleno de formas y sombras punitagudas. Pero el cielo estaba iluminado. Las estrellas eran tan brillantes que cuando cerré los ojos permanecieron ahí, tras los párpados, como si mi cuerpo se hubiese tragado un poco de cielo.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away

“Me pregunté qué dolía más, dar la vida o que te la quiten.”
― Christie Watson, Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away