You must have a certain amount of maturity to be a poet. Seldom do sixteen-year-olds know themselves well enough.

Fear is a sign-usually a sign that I'm doing something right.

in freeing myself from the romantic dream of finding another man to come along and rescue me, I learned that no one can rescue me except myself.

We write poems / as leaves give oxygen - / so we can breathe.

I actually think leaving your children alone to fantasize, to write, to make projects on their own is good for them. Breathing down their necks is a form of control. Children should have their own space.

In a way women are fleshier because of estrogen. It's hard for us to lose weight because when we get super skinny we don't ovulate. Women in camps during the Holocaust didn't menstruate and didn't ovulate. They were starving; they were terrified. Why emulate that condition? It's nonsensical to me.

Pleasure is terrifying because it breaks down the boundaries between people. Embracing passion means living with fear.