Whether we know it or not, we transmit the presence of everyone we have ever known, as though by being in each other's presence we exchange our cells, pass on some of our lifeforce, and then we go on carrying that person in our body, not unlike springtime when certain plants in fields we walk through attach their seeds in the form of small burrs to our socks, our pants, our caps, as if to say, 'Go on, take us with you, carry us to root in another place.' This is how we survive long after we are dead. This is why it is important who we become, because we pass it on.

Too often we take notes on writing, we think about writing but never do it. I want you to walk into the heart of the storm, written words dripping off hair, eyelids, hanging from hands.

Really you don't need more information. If you've lived twenty years, you probably have enough material for the rest of your life

Don't let yourself be thrown away....Continue on no matter what....Continue to make a positive effort for the good.

The muscles of writing are not so visible, but they are just as powerful: determination, attention, curiosity, a passionate heart.

Poetry is a dumb Buddha who thinks a donkey is as important as a diamond.

I had cancer for fourteen months and wrote a memoir about the experience.