“District 12. Where you can starve to death in safety," I mutter. Then I glance quickly over my shoulder. Even here, in the middle of nowhere, you worry someone might overhear you.”

“You can grieve when someone dies. But when someone is near death, and there is the chance that you might prevent it if you make the right decision, anxiety takes over.”

“If you die and i live there's no life for me back in District 12. You're my whole life. I would never be happy again.”

“And now … over my shoulder a backward glance …”

“Pay attention to where you are going because without meaning you might get nowhere.”

“When the evening is over,
put your head upon my shoulder
and I'll tell you something I believe is true:
happiness is me and you.
In a world so distorted,
where the worst is best reported
love may be something that will see us through
Happiness is me and you.”

“The world weighs on my shoulders
But what am I to do?
You sometimes drive me crazy
But I worry about you
I know it makes no difference
To what you’re going through
But I see the tip of the iceberg
And I worry about you…
-- Distant Early Warning (1984)”

“People call me stupid for treating you like a queen, but I dont even worry `cause you`re my unforeseen.
And I hope that you`ll be with me, if only in my dreams. But here you are next to me and you`re glad, or so it seems.”

“I will get back on my feet even if I am knocked down’. For that, you need to know what all might knock you down and where would you fall.”

“Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don’t think of District 12 as a place that cares about me. But a shift has occurred since I stepped up to take Prim's place, and now it seems I have become someone precious. At first one, then another, then almost every member of the crowd touches the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to me. It is an old and rarely used gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means good-bye to someone you love.”