Others occur so quietly that we do not recognize them until years later.
Innocence rarely disappears all at once. It fades through disappointment, compromise, grief, and survival. Perhaps the soul is much the same. The challenge is not only to preserve it, but to remember what it looked like before the world demanded so much of us.
What parts of ourselves are worth protecting at any cost?
William Eric Waters is an award-winning poet, fiction writer, essayist, educator, criminal-justice scholar, and nonprofit executive. Writing as William E. Waters, he is the author of the epic poem Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass and three poetry collections: Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, The Black Feminine Mystique, and The Black Blood of Poetry. Under the pen name Easy Waters, he is the author of the novel Streets of Rage and the short-story collection Conundrums: Stories of Law & Justice. His work explores Black history, race, law, punishment, institutional power, accountability, redemption, and resilience.
I love this Quotation Project! What a brilliant idea! I am using the book in my course next semester and am thinking about requiring students to select a quote for each week and write a brief reflection!
Regarding this quote: It reminds me of the question Jesus asked: “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world but lose their soul? Or what shall a person give in return for their soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Yes! The Project will ultimately be a companion volume. I think Conundrums has great value beyond a collection of short stories, even if I say so myself as the author!
William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters 
Brother Eric!,
I love this Quotation Project! What a brilliant idea! I am using the book in my course next semester and am thinking about requiring students to select a quote for each week and write a brief reflection!
Regarding this quote: It reminds me of the question Jesus asked: “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world but lose their soul? Or what shall a person give in return for their soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
Thanks for sharing this!!!
Mark
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Yes! The Project will ultimately be a companion volume. I think Conundrums has great value beyond a collection of short stories, even if I say so myself as the author!
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