Quotes about tears
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“I don't know much about kisses, but I can assure you that hers were no less fierce than a swarm of bullets tearing the air”

Xavier Velasco (1964) Mexican writer

Kiss

“That's how a scary story works. It echoes some ancient fear. It recreates some forgotten terror. Something we'd like to think we're grown beyond. But it can still scare us to tears. It's something you'd hoped was healed.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Haunted

Source: Haunted (2005), Chapter 19, Hot Potting, A story by Baroness Frostbite

Fear, Hope, Thinking

“Rocking back and forth, she clutched the sword like it was the only thing she had ever loved, and let the blood spill down instead of tears.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Heavenly Fire

Source: City of Heavenly Fire

Love

“too much happiness always overflowed into tears of sorrow.”

Amy Tan The Hundred Secret Senses

Source: The Hundred Secret Senses

Happiness

“I believe in the power of laughter and tears as an antidote to hatred and terror”

Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) British comic actor and filmmaker

Laughter

“He wept, and it felt as if the tears were cleansing him, as if his body needed to empty itself.”

Lois Lowry Messenger

Source: Messenger

“Guys always think tears are a sign of weakness. They’re a sign of FRUSTRATION. She’s only crying so she won’t cut your throat in your sleep. So make nice and be grateful.”

Donna Barr (1952) comic book author and cartoonist

Guy, Thinking, Sleep, Cry

“Fool that I am," said he,"that I did not tear out my heart the day I resolved to revenge myself".”

Alexandre Dumas book The Count of Monte Cristo

Variant: What a fool I was, not to tear my heart out on the day when I resolved to avenge myself!
Source: The Count of Monte Cristo

Fools, Revenge, Heart

“Whatever we cannot easily understand we call God; this saves much wear and tear on the brain tissues.”

Edward Abbey (1927–1989) American author and essayist

A Voice Crying in the Wilderness (Vox Clamantis in Deserto) (1990)

God, Understanding

“We are expanded by tears, we are told, not reduced by them.”

Michael Ondaatje The Cat's Table

Source: The Cat's Table

“But a sort of rupture-in anguish-leaves us at the limit of tears: in such a case we lose ourselves, we forget ourselves and communicate with an elusive beyond.”

Georges Bataille (1897–1962) French intellectual and literary figure

Communication, Forgetting

“Lilt pulled away. "I saw what he was doing, so I cleared a path for him. I helped him do it…" She shook her head, tears tracking the dust off her face, and turned to stare at the fallen tower. "Have we all gone mad to want this?”

Scott Westerfeld book Behemoth

Source: Behemoth

Help, Madness

“He treasured her, treasured her tears, treasured her love for others. Her heart might even be big enough to fill that empty space in his own chest. Perhaps she could be his heart as well.”

Elizabeth Hoyt (1970) American writer

Source: Scandalous Desires

Love, Heart

“The heart knoweth its own sorrow and there are times when, like David, it is comforting to think that our tears are put in a bottle and not one of them forgotten by the one who leads us in paths of sorrow.”

Hannah Hurnard book Hinds' Feet on High Places

Source: Hinds' Feet on High Places

Thinking, Time, Heart

“If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn,
They will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem.”

Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) Canadian poet and singer-songwriter

"Sisters of Mercy"
Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967)
Context: When they lay down beside me I made my confession to them.
They touched both my eyes and I touched the dew on their hem.
If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn,
They will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem.

Love, Life, Season

“Memories are bullets. Some whiz by and only spook you. Others tear you open and leave you in pieces.”

Richard Kadrey (1957) San Francisco-based novelist, freelance writer, and photographer

Source: Kill the Dead

Memory

“Because she deserved my tears if anyone on earth ever did. I could feel the tears within me, undiscovered, and untouched in their inland sea. Those tears had been with me always.”

Pat Conroy book Beach Music

Source: Beach Music

Feeling, Sea

“I felt his hot tears and the loneliness of man and the sweetness of all men and the aching haunting beauty of the living”

John Fante book Full of Life

Source: Full of Life

Men, Beauty, Loneliness

“The tears that heal are also the tears that scald and scourge.”

Stephen King book The Shining

Source: The Shining

“Jennifer Merrick had stored all her tears inside her, and her pride and courage would never permit her to break down and shed them.”

Judith McNaught book A Kingdom of Dreams

Source: A Kingdom of Dreams

Courage

“Once you've seen a solution to the disease that's tearing you apart, relapsing is never fun.”

Anthony Kiedis book Scar Tissue

Source: Scar Tissue

Disease

“Looking at him, she saw her future and felt all the ragged tears in her heart heal themselves. "I fit," she whispered in marvel, stepping into him. "I fit with you."
He nodded and wrapped his arms around her.
"Perfectly”

Jill Shalvis (1963) American writer

Source: Simply Irresistible

Future, Heart

“Then she cried without tears, which is said to hurt even more like dry labor.”

Laura Esquivel book Like Water for Chocolate

Source: Like Water for Chocolate

Hurt

“And now that its ruby eyes are set into the gold, you cannot see their tear-shape, so they seem to be laughing rather than crying. It is a constant reminder to me of the human ability to create something beautiful even when things are at the darkest.”

Cressida Cowell (1966) British writer

Source: How to Twist a Dragon's Tale

Beauty, Cry

“Dios," he said, addressing himself to Jace. "What happened to you, brother? You look as if a pack of wolves tried to tear you apart."
"That's either a shockingly good guess," said Jace, "or you heard about what happened.”

Cassandra Clare (1973) American author

“He read it for the same reason an animal tears at a wounded foot: to hurt the pain.”

Nathanael West book Miss Lonelyhearts

Source: Miss Lonelyhearts

Pain, Reading, Animals, Hurt

“Let's try our best? I hope that someday the many, many tears that were shed will be worth it.”

Natsuki Takaya (1973) Manga artist

Hope

“I've written this to keep from crying. But I am crying, only the tears won't come.”

Aleister Crowley book Diary of a Drug Fiend

Source: Diary of a Drug Fiend

Cry

“the writing of some
men
is like a vast bridge
that carries you
over
the many things
that claw and tear.

The Wine of Forever”

Charles Bukowski book Love Is a Dog from Hell

Source: Love Is a Dog from Hell

Men, Wine

“I cried in English, I cried in french, I cried in all the languages, because tears are the same all around the world.”

Miranda July (1974) American performance artist, musician and writer

Source: No One Belongs Here More Than You

World

“There you go… let it all slide out. Unhappiness can't stick in a person's soul when it's slick with tears.”

Shannon Hale Princess Academy

Source: Princess Academy

Soul, Personality

“You're quite wrong, you know. I am the most permanent person that you will eve meet," said Magnus, his voice breathless with laughter and his eyes stung a little by tears. "It is only that it never makes a difference.”

Cassandra Clare The Bane Chronicles

Source: The Bane Chronicles

Laughter, Personality

“I want to hug you. And I want to tear your gods-damned head off. Both at once."

"Ah," said Locke. "Near as I can tell, that’s the definition of 'family' right there.”

Scott Lynch book Red Seas Under Red Skies

Source: Red Seas Under Red Skies

God, Family

“Nick shook his head and found to his surprise that he did have tears left after all. He wasn't surprised by a talking cat. The world was crumbling around him and anything could happen.”

Garth Nix book Abhorsen

Source: Abhorsen

World, Cats

“We have a saying that time has no single measure, that time can be like frost or lightning or a tear or siege or storm or sunset, or even like a rock.”

James Clavell book Shōgun

Source: Shōgun

Time

“He was healthier than the rest of us, but when you listened with the stethoscope you could hear the tears bubbling inside his heart.”

Gabriel García Márquez book Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Source: Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Heart

“Kitsch causes two tears to flow in quick succession. The first tear says: How nice to see children running on the grass! The second tear says: How nice to be moved, together with all mankind, by children running on the grass! It is the second tear that makes kitsch kitsch.”

Milan Kundera book The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Source: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984), Part Five: Lightness and Weight

Children, Grass, Success

“Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears.”

Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman

Source: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Singing, Heart

“I could feel the tears beginning to collect in my throat again, but I pushed them apart, away from each other. Tears are only a threat in groups.”

Aimee Bender (1969) Novelist, short story writer

Source: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Feeling

“I saw, in gradual vision through my tears,
The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years,
Those of my own life, who by turns had flung
A shadow across me.”

Elizabeth Barrett Browning book Sonnets from the Portuguese

Source: Sonnets from the Portuguese

Life, Sadness

“Unshed tears leave a deposit on your heart. Eventually they form a crust around it and paralyze it, the way mineral deposits paralyze a washing machine.”

Susanna Tamaro (1957) Italian writer

Source: Follow Your Heart

Way, Heart

“I thought about all the people I knew who spent many of their waking hours feeling sorry for themselves. How useful it would be to put a daily limit on self-pity. Just a few tearful minutes, then on with the day.”

Mitch Albom Tuesdays with Morrie

Source: Tuesdays with Morrie

People, Feeling

“They signed the unwind order just to spite each other, but laugh, laugh, laugh, Hayden, because if you ever stop laughing, it might just tear you apart worse than a Chop Shop.”

Neal Shusterman (1962) American novelist

Source: UnWholly

“Sometimes, when you’re sad you don’t know what to do, it helps to be angry. But then the tears come back again all the same, and you fall asleep with the salty taste of them on your lips.”

Cornelia Funke Inkheart trilogy

Source: Inkheart

Sadness, Help

“Magnus wants to shout at me, don’t you, Magnus?” (Jace)
“Yes,” Magnus said, tearing his eyes away from Alec long enough to scowl.
-pg.275-”

Cassandra Clare book City of Ashes

Source: City of Ashes

“Then Octavia drops to her knees, rubs the hem of a skirt against her cheek, and burst into tears. "It's been so long," she gasps, "since I've seen anything pretty.”

Suzanne Collins book Mockingjay

Source: Mockingjay

“She would wonder what had hurt her when she found her face wet with tears, and then would wonder how she could have been hurt without knowing it.”

George MacDonald book The Day Boy and the Night Girl

Source: The Day Boy and the Night Girl

Hurt

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Source: The Second World War: Alone

“This tremendous world I have inside of me. How to free myself, and this world, without tearing myself to pieces. And rather tear myself to a thousand pieces than be buried with this world within me.”

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) author

Source: Diaries of Franz Kafka

World

“There is an ancient tribal proverb I once heard in India. It says that before we can see properly we must first shed our tears to clear the way.”

Libba Bray book The Sweet Far Thing

Source: The Sweet Far Thing

Way

“Pippa's laugh is bitter, tinged with tears. 'Ha! Why do girls think being beautiful will solve every problem? Being beautiful just creates problems. It's a misery. I wish I were someone else.”

Libba Bray A Great and Terrible Beauty

Source: A Great and Terrible Beauty

Beauty, Girl, Problem, Thinking

“I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.”

Bob Hope (1903–2003) American comedian, actor, singer and dancer

Hope

“Compassionate love may be strong. It sobs, it burns, then it wipes away its tears – and it does nothing.”

Alexander Herzen (1812–1870) Russian author

Love, Strong

“And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.”

William Blake (1757–1827) English Romantic poet and artist

Fear, Smile, Water, Sun

“Isn't it kind of silly to think that tearing someone else down builds you up?”

Sean Covey (1964) author; business executive

Source: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: The Ultimate Teenage Success Guide

Thinking

“Whenever someone dies, a part of the universe dies too. Everything a person felt, experience and saw dies with them, like tears in the rain.”

Paulo Coelho book The Winner Stands Alone

Source: The Winner Stands Alone

Universe, Parting, Personality

“We all of us need to be toppled off the throne of self, my dear," he said. "Perched up there the tears of others are never upon our own cheek.”

Elizabeth Goudge (1900–1984) English fiction writer

Source: The White Witch

“… But listen, there will be more joy in heaven over the tears of a repentant sinner than over the white robes of a hundred just men.”

Victor Hugo book Les Misérables

Source: Les Misérables

Men, Joy

“The world, even the smallest parts of it, is filled with things you don't know.

If you care about something enough, it's going to make you cry. But you have to use it. Use your tears. Use your pain. Use your fear. Get mad.”

Sherman Alexie book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Source: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Pain, World, Fear, Parting

“You'd be amazed at the pain and tears a single smile hides.”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Acheron

Pain, Smile

“Freedom has a high price, as high as that of slavery; the only difference is that you pay with pleasure and a smile, even when that smile is dimmed with tears.”

Paulo Coelho book The Zahir

Source: The Zahir

Pleasure, Smile, Freedom

“Joy is a mystery because it can happen anywhere, anytime, even under the most unpromising circumstances, even in the midst of suffering, with tears in its eyes….”

Frederick Buechner (1926) Poet, novelist, short story writer, theologian

Suffering, Joy

“A Boat

O beautiful
was the werewolf
in his evil forest.
We took him
to the carnival
and he started
crying
when he saw
the Ferris wheel.
Electric
green and red tears
flowed down
his furry cheeks.
He looked
like a boat
out on the dark
water.”

Richard Brautigan (1935–1984) American novelist, poet, and short story writer

Beauty, Water, Evil, Cry

“When a stargirl cries, she sheds not tears but light.”

Jerry Spinelli book Stargirl

Source: Stargirl

Light

“Dreams are like paper, they tear so easily.”

Gilda Radner (1946–1989) American comedian

Dreams

“Sex must be mixed with tears, laughter, words, promises, scenes, jealousy, envy, all the spices of fear, foreign travel, new faces, novels, stories, dreams, fantasies, music, dancing, opium, wine.”

Anaïs Nin (1903–1977) writer of novels, short stories, and erotica

Source: The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 1: 1931-1934

Fear, Jealousy, Dreams, Music

“How can I shed tears for a man I should never have allowed to touch me in any way?”

Janet Fitch book White Oleander

Source: White Oleander

Way

“Falling tears in my heart,
Falling rain on the town.
Why this long ache,
A knife in my heart.”

Paul Verlaine (1844–1896) French poet

Il pleure dans mon cœur
Comme il pleut sur la ville.
Quelle est cette langueur
Qui pénètre mon cœur?
"Il pleur dans mon cœur" line 1, from Romances sans paroles (1874); Sorrell p. 69
Source: One Hundred and One Poems by Paul Verlaine: A Bilingual Edition

Heart