It has to be living, to learn the speech of the place, It has to face the man of the time.

I measure myself Against a tall tree I find that I am much taller, For I reach right up to the sun With my eye; And I reach to the shore of the sea With my ear. Nevertheless, I dislike The way the ants crawl In and out of my shadow.

At the sight of blackbirds Flying in a green light, Even the bawds of euphony Would cry out sharply.

Perhaps there is a degree of perception at which what is real and what is imagines are one: a state of clairvoyant observation, accessible or possibly accessible to the poet or, say, the acutest poet.

One's ignorance is one's chief asset.

Accuracy of observation is the equivalent of accuracy of thinking.

The poet's function is to make his imagination . . . become the light in the mind of others. His role, in short, is to help people to live their lives.