Poetry is the least imposition on silence in a world of chatter.

The writing of a poem is, for me, in the first place, an almost total act of abandon leading to discovery leading to recognition.

Learn the rules, break the rules, make up new rules, break the new rules.

I speak to you in one tongue/ but every moment that ever mattered to me/ occurred in another language.

Our job is to become more and more of what we are. The growth of a poet seems to be related to his or her becoming less and less embarrassed about more and more.

Try to write poems at least one person in the room will hate.

Sometimes the best revision of a poem is a new poem.