The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

Imprisonment is as irrevocable as death.

Which painting in the National Gallery would I save if there was a fire? The one nearest the door of course.

A cigarette is a pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end and a fool at the other.

To the person with a toothache, even if the world is tottering, there is nothing more important than a visit to a dentist.

I would exchange every painting of Christ for one snapshot.

That is what all poets do: they talk to themselves out loud; and the world overhears them. But it's horribly lonely not to hear someone else talk sometimes.