If we really want to be full and generous in spirit, we have no choice but to trust at some level.

I was appointed Poet Laureate. It came totally out of the blue because most Poet Laureates had been considerably older than I. It was not something that I even had begun to dream about!

My childhood library was small enough not to be intimidating. And yet I felt the whole world was contained in those two rooms. I could walk any aisle and smell wisdom.

Without imagination we can go nowhere. And imagination is not restricted to the arts. Every scientist I have met who has been a success has had to imagine.

In working on a poem, I love to revise. Lots of younger poets don't enjoy this, but in the process of revision I discover things

I was pirouette and flourish, I was filigree and flame. How could I count my blessings when I didn't know their names?

I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them.