Anthony Liccione (b. October 9, 1968) emerged from hardship, raised in a broken family, moving among homes and even living in his car during his teenage years, yet found solace in writing. His journey as poet and author reflects that struggle: his journals grew into published volumes such as Back Words and Forward, Please Pass Me the Blood & Butter, Wolf Down, and Symmetry. His poems appear in many literary journals. He now balances life in Texas, service in the Army National Guard, and raising two children. His work inspires through unflinching honesty, about loss, suffering, resilience and shows how art can give voice to shadows and turn survival into strength.
"Sometimes it's better for a struggling writer to stay single, than to keep hearing, "Oh, your a writer, and you need to spend time in writing? Then go marry your writing!"
"Sometimes I wonder, that one missing sock after doing laundry, is the smart one. After being unhappy for so long, it finally walks away from a frayed, worn-out relationship."
"The mind can fool the heart, as the heart can fool the mind."
"Most people give up finding their soul mate, and settle down to just having a flesh mate."
"Victory, is like a boxer that hangs his gloves, after the consecutive losses; sometimes walking away is what builds character, than the actual fight. As humble fruit on a tree that falls to the ground and rots, never finding appreciation in the taste of mouths."
"When we were together before, the world was small to us, but as you grew bigger to life and the world became desirous to living, we became smaller to each other."
"A successful person expects a clapping hand, an ailing person expects an open hand."
"For your every tear, know that I'll always be here. To bare one pain we both will share, know I'll never disappear."
"God is like a mirror, consistent, stable, unchanging; reflecting His image of us, that is always changing."
"To save face, it's better not to ask sex from the ex, but to give everything the axe."
"A circle of friends, doesn't always keep perfect relationships."
"Today can be better than the worse of yesterdays, but tomorrow can never replace the best of yesterdays."
"The pessimist reason that things just happen, where the optimist believe that things happen for a reason."
"It's not how many friends you can count, it's how many of those you can count on."
"Be open in everything with your partner, because where there is secrecy, it can mistakenly come off as being sneaky; where you just may be innocently quiet."
"The mint from your breath, the milk from your breast, the best of your mind, now in its worst state of condition. From the womb to the tomb, as a mild flower, you break your petals upon blossom, and seize death openly. Leaving your fragrance to spin and dance, one last time before being blown away."
"The American flag doesn't give her glory on a peaceful, calm day. It's when the winds pick up and become boisterous, do we see her strength. When she unfolds her hand, and shows her frayed fingers, where we see the stretch of red-blood lines of man that fought for this land. The purity of white stripes that strips our sins, and the stars of Abraham's covenant, broad in a midnight blue sky. The rights our forefathers established. As it waves high in the currents of freedom, where the Torch of Liberty shines over the sea, does she give meaning to unity. When we strive as one nation, or when it drops half-mast, to a fallen soldier."
"If you put a clock in a bottle, with time it will crack,as like money, as like love, as like a beautiful mind, empty of a soul."
"A good teacher is one, that never stops listening; a good listener is one, that never stops teaching."
"The thought is just as strong as the consequence."
"If you're still believing, then you're almost there!"
"Many people are trying hard to be invincible, and most of the time they fail invisible, while few find their spotlight. But the remarkable person is one, who can be both invincible and invisible at the same time."
"Hope is like a word made with cloud, without faith, it quickly blows away."