Quotes from Kwame Alexander

That's all you really hope for from a book – that it's going to resonate with young people and empower them in some way. I believe poetry can get kids reading.

Basketball Rule #1 In this game of life your family is the court and the ball is your heart. No matter how good you are, no matter how down you get, always leave your heart on the court.

Basketball Rule #4 If you miss enough of life's free throws you will pay in the end.

Basketball Rule #5 When you stop playing your game you've already lost.

Basketball Rule #10 A loss is inevitable, like snow in winter. True champions learn to dance through the storm.

Basketball Rule #6 A great team has a good scorer with a teammate who's on point and ready to assist.

The poems were cool. The best ones were like bombs, and when all the right words came together it was like an explosion.

Basketball Rule #7 Rebounding is the art of anticipating, of always being prepared to grab it. But you can't drop the ball.

Basketball Rule #3 Never let anyone lower your goals. Others' expectations of you are determined by their limitations of life. The sky is your limit, sons. Always shoot for the sun and you will shine.

I think being an adult must be confusing as hell.

There's a lot of love around you, but if you don't see it, it's not there.

Books are fun, Nicholas, he says, they're like amusement parks for readers. Yeah, well, maybe they would be fun if I got to pick the rides sometimes, you answer

tricks are for kids,

Basketball Rule #8 Sometimes you have to lean back a little and fade away to get the best shot.

Look at the mirrors in your friends eyes. That's all anyone ever needs. Too see beauty and reflection in others. Those are real mirrors.

Own the sadness, don't let it own you.

Never let anyone lower your goals. Others' expectations of you are determined my their limitations of life. The sky is your limit, sons. Always shoot for the sun, and you will shine.

Basketball Rule #9 When the game is on the line, don't fear. Grab the ball. Take it to the hoop.

You love me? Like summer loves short nights. Get a checkup, then. Only cure I need is you. I'm serious about this, Chuck. Only doctor I need is Dr. Crystal Bell. Now come here . . . And then there is silence, so I put the pillow over my head because when they stop talking, I know what that means. Uggghh!

In this life, rain's gonna fall, but the sun will shine again,

Sometimes it's the things that aren't said that kill you.

don't rush though: your eyes need time to taste. your soul needs room to bloom.

Because Dad told you he'd be here forever. Because I thought forever was like Mars -- far away.

Did y'all arrest Uncle Bob's turkey? It was just criminal what he did to that bird, wasn't it? You