When the brain gets as dry as an empty nut,
When the reason stands on its squarest toes,
When the mind (like a beard) has a "formal cut,"--
There is a place and enough for the pains of prose;
But whenever the May-blood stires and glows,
And the young year draws to the "golden prime,"
And Sir Romeo sticks in his ear a rose,--
Then hey! for the ripple of laughing rhyme!
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Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.
Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.
If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone.
If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone.
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.
A poet looks at the world the way a man looks at a woman.
A poet looks at the world the way a man looks at a woman.
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.
The courage of the Poet is to keep ajar the door that leads into madness.
The courage of the Poet is to keep ajar the door that leads into madness.
It is in self-limitation that a master first shows himself.
It is in self-limitation that a master first shows himself.
Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never quite equal the experience behind them.
Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never quite equal the experience behind them.
Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth.
Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth.
