“As the Arabs say, "The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens.”

“But for one's health as you say, it is very necessary to work in the garden and see the flowers growing.”

“A flower can't grow without rain. (Alexion)
Too much rain and it drowns. (Danger)
And yet the most beautiful of the lotus flowers are the ones that grow in the deepest mud. (Alexion)”

“Raise your words, not voice.
It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.”

“The harder the rain, the lower the flowers in the garden bend:
I'd rather never talk again
Than to continue to pretend that this never ends.”

“The rain to the wind said,
'You push and I'll pelt.'
They so smote the garden bed.
That the flowers actually knelt,
And lay lodged -- though not dead.
I know how the flowers felt.”

“What is the spiritual battle? Well, the soul is a garden divided into two parts. On one half are planted thorny bushes, and on the other half flowers. We also have a water pump with two taps and two channels. The one guides the water to the thorns and the other to the flowers. I always have the choice to open one or the other tap. I leave the thorns without water and they dry up, I water the flowers and they blossom.”

“How can a poet express his feelings in a string of words that can make the rain fall, the seeds grow, the flowers bloom, the stars move, the sun dim and the sea roar?”

“If you count the thorns, the flower disappears.”

“The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.”