Patti Smith, on the late Lou Reed

"As I mourned by the sea, two images came to mind, watermarking the paper- colored sky. The first was the face of his wife, Laurie. She was his mirror; in her eyes you can see his kindness, sincerity, and empathy. The second was the 'great big clipper ship' that he longed to board, from the lyrics of his masterpiece, 'Heroin.' I envisioned it waiting for him beneath the constellation formed by the souls of the poets he so wished to join."—Patti Smith: Mourning Lou Reed. [The New Yorker]