I have retired, but if there's anything that would kill me it is to wake up in the morning not knowing what to do.

Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.

I have always regarded myself, in the first place, as an African patriot.

We slaughter one another in our words and attitudes. We slaughter one another in the stereotypes and mistrust that linger in our heads, and the words of hate we spew from our lips.

I realized that they could take everything from me except my mind and my heart. They could not take those things. Those things I still had control over. And I decided not to give them away.

Poetry cannot block a bullet or still a sjambok, but it can bear witness to brutality-thereby cultivating a flower in a graveyard.

I cannot conceive of Israel withdrawing if Arab states do not recognize Israel, within secure borders.