There was nothing glorious about the life of a drinker or the life of a writer.

I have been treated better than I should have been---not by life in general nor by the machinery of things but by women.

I didn't feel that way about it. I had been playing with death for some time. I can't say we were the best of friends but we were well acquainted.

Each man's hell is in a different place: mine is just up and behind my ruined face.

some moments are nice, some are nicer, some are even worth writing about.

I have seen too many men wilt and go silly under a little light, and then they continue to write and get published, turning out pure crap under a name that has become a bad habit. The next poem is all that counts. You can't stand on past poems.

I give you soul. I give you wisdom and light and music and a bit of laughter. Also, I am the world's greatest horseplayer.