Quote

Sometimes you have a poem that you really want to write and it never happens.

Poems have a different music from ordinary language, and every poem has a different kind of music of necessity, and that's, in a way, the hardest thing about writing poetry is waiting for that music, and sometimes you never know if it's going to come.

If you read quickly to get through a poem to what it means, you have missed the body of the poem.

I do read a poem almost every morning. Unless I'm really, really late, I have to get my poem in.

Poems seem to have a life of their own. They tell you when enough is enough.

I do not go in search of poetry. I wait for poetry to visit me.

I shall try to write a poem that is about the moment but doesn't betray things that are true to me as a poet.

I don't write poems and put them to music. Just let things flow.

No poem is easily grasped; so why should any reader expect fast results?