A poem begins with a lump in the throat; a homesickness or a love sickness. It is a reaching-out toward expression; an effort to find fulfillment. A complete poem is one where an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.

I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering.

Every poem is a momentary stay against the confusion of the world.

Like a piece of ice on a hot stove the poem must ride on its own melting.

Never discuss the poem you contemplate writing. It's like turning on the outside spigot. It takes all the pressure off the upstairs bathroom.

A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom.