Naturally, if you love somebody, you do want to see their face every now and again, but that's not a condition of your love. People often get possession mixed up with love, and they say, "If you really loved me, you would call me." How - when life is going on? I think of you all the time, and the thought of you always lifts my spirits. But I'm not right at the phone!

I know for sure that love saves me and that it is here to save us all.

When we know better, we do better.

One must learn to care for oneself first, so that one can then dare to care for someone else.

I speak a number of languages, but none are more beautiful to me than English.

A joyful spirit is evidence of a grateful heart.

I find in my poetry and prose the rhythms and imagery of the best - I mean, when I'm at my best - of the good Southern black preachers. The lyricism of the spirituals and the directness of gospel songs and the mystery of blues are in my music or in my poetry and prose, or I missed everything.