Poetry is the art of overhearing ourselves say things from which it is impossible to retreat.

It might be liberating to think of human life as informed by losses and disappearances as much as by gifted appearances, allowing a more present participation and witness to the difficulty of living.

Being young and trying to catch a glimpse of the depths, of the true self, of the soul, or whatever human beings have called it over the centuries, we often find ourselves surrounded by bossy, hectoring voices trying to short-circuit our personal experience by super-imposing their own disappointments. Much of this bossiness masquerades as an education.

If in your mind it was possible to take a year's sabbatical from work to reassess your life, what would you do and where would you go?

We are the only species on earth capable of preventing our own flowering.

Gratitude arises from paying attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within and without us.

A good poem has its own life. It's like bringing a child into the world. You, the poet, birthed the child, but the child will surprise you continually. I think a work of art has its own aliveness, its own future.