I have always wanted to be both man and woman, to incorporate the strongest and richest parts of my mother and father within/into me - to share valleys and mountains upon my body the way the earth does in hills and peaks.

You cannot use someone else's fire. You can only use your own. And in order to do that, you must first be willing to believe that you have it.

What I most regretted were my silences. Of what had I ever been afraid?

If I cannot air this pain and alter it, I will surely die of it. That's the beginning of social protest.

Poetry is not a luxury.

Even the smallest victory is never to be taken for granted. Each victory must be applauded.

There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt.