My tears are only triggered by kitsch. — Cees Nooteboom

The world is a never-ending cross-reference.

For the sake of having her with me I had to tolerate the shadow of a tracksuited poet, but one who has taken the guise of a man in love will indiscriminately eat and drink platefuls of thistles, barrels of vinegar.

That is the difference between gods and men. Gods can change themselves; humans can only be changed.