Poetry is an art, and chief of the fine art; the easiest to dabble in, the hardest in which to reach true excellence.

Poetry is an art, and chief of the fine art; the easiest to dabble in, the hardest in which to reach true excellence.

Fashion is a potency in art, making it hard to judge between the temporary and the lasting.

A critic must accept what is best in a poet, and thus become his best encourager.

Faith and joy are the ascensive forces of song.

The poet is a creator, not an iconoclast, and never will tamely endeavor to say in prose what can only be expressed in song.

Whither away, Bluebird, Whither away? The blast is chill, yet in the upper sky Thou still canst find the color of thy wing, The hue of May. Warbler, why speed, thy southern flight? ah, why, Thou, too, whose song first told us of the Spring? Whither away?