The poet ranks far below the painter in the representation of visible things, and far below the musician in that of invisible things.

Anything I can sing, I call a song. Anything I can't sing, I call a poem.

At certain times I read a lot of poetry. My favorite poets are Shelley and Keats. Rimbaud is so identifiable. Lord Byron. I don't know. Lately if I read poems, it's like I can always hear the guitar. Even with Shakespeare's sonnets I can hear a melody because it's all broken up into timed phrases so I hear it. I always keep thinking, 'What kind of song would this be?'

The loss of these tastes [for poetry and music] is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature.

You live you die and death not ends it.

If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once a week.