To my generation no other English poet seemed so perfectly to express the sensibility of a male adolescent. If I do not now turn to him very often, I am eternally grateful to him for the joy he gave me in my youth.

There are good books which are only for adults. There are no good books which are only for children.

Cats can be very funny, and have the oddest ways of showing they're glad to see you.

Why doesn't the United States take over the monarchy and unite with England? England does have important assets. Naturally the longer you wait, the more they will dwindle. At least you could use it for a summer resort instead of Maine.

Organic growth is a cyclical process; it is just as true to say that the oak is a potential acorn as it is to say the acorn is a potential oak. But the process of writing a poem, of making any art object, is not cyclical but a motion in one direction toward a definite end.

Cathedrals, luxury liners laden with souls, Holding to the east their hulls of stone.

A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.