Poets are being pursued by the philosophers today, out of the poverty of philosophy. God damn it, you might think a man had no business to be writing, to be a poet unless some philosophic stinker gave him permission.
William Carlos WilliamsTHE THOUGHTFUL LOVER Deny yourself all half things. Have it or leave it. But it will keepโor it is not worth the having. Never start anything you can't finishโ However do not lose faith because you are starved! She loves you she says. Believe it โtomorrow. But today the particulars of poetry that difficult art require your whole attention.
William Carlos WilliamsDanse Russe If I when my wife is sleeping and the baby and Kathleen are sleeping and the sun is a flame-white disc in silken mists above shining trees,-- if I in my north room dance naked, grotesquely before my mirror waving my shirt round my head and singing softly to myself: "I am lonely, lonely. I was born to be lonely, I am best so!" If I admire my arms, my face, my shoulders, flanks, buttocks against the yellow drawn shades,-- Who shall say I am not the happy genius of my household?
William Carlos Williams