But everyone's an expert with the virtue of hindsight . . . .

Even the most pragmatic person fell victim at times to a longing for something other.

I sound contemptuous, but I am not. I am interested--intrigued even--by the way time erases real lives, leaving only vague imprints. Blood and spirit fade away so that only names and dates remain.

I love the structural part of the writing process.

So much in life came down to timing.

Had any poet adequately described the wretched ugliness of a loved one turned inside out with grief?

I want to be independent. To meet interesting people. ... I just mean new people with clever things to say. Things I've never heard before. I want to be free. Open to whatever adventure comes along and sweeps me off my feet.