A poet must leave traces of his passage, not proof.

A poet must leave traces of his passage, not proof.

A poem conveys not a message so much as the provenance of a message, an advent of sense.

A poem conveys not a message so much as the provenance of a message, an advent of sense.

Poetry is a way of taking life by the throat.

Poetry is a way of taking life by the throat.

Each word bears its weight, so you have to read my poems quite slowly.

Each word bears its weight, so you have to read my poems quite slowly.

Poetry is the journal of a sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air.

Poetry is the journal of a sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air.

Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.

Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.

You will not find poetry anywhere unless you bring some of it with you.

You will not find poetry anywhere unless you bring some of it with you.

The poet is in the end probably more afraid of the dogmatist who wants to extract the message from the read more

The poet is in the end probably more afraid of the dogmatist who wants to extract the message from the poem and throw the poem away than he is of the sentimentalist who says, "Oh, just let me enjoy the poem.".

Poetry is the work of poets, not of peoples or communities; artistic creation can never be anything but the production read more

Poetry is the work of poets, not of peoples or communities; artistic creation can never be anything but the production of an individual mind .