"All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling."

"The poem is a little myth of man's capacity of making life meaningful. And in the end, the poem is not a thing we see-it is, rather, a light by which we may see-and what we see is life."

"A poem is never finished, only abandoned."

"The poet... may be used as a barometer, but let us not forget that he is also part of the weather."

"Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket."

"Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."

"Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never quite equal the experience behind them."

"To be a poet is a condition, not a profession."

"Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance."

"I've written some poetry I don't understand myself."