“The times are squalid. They always were. It is a poet's duty to hold the line.”

“Poet appointed dare not declineto walk among the bogus...”

“Always carry a corkscrew and the wine shall provide itself.”

“...and always the cutting out and the buggering about and the buggering about and the rewriting and so on...”

“Men are fools to invest in real estate.”

“It tastes good, garlic and salt in it,with the half-sweet white wine of Orvietoon scanty grass under great treeswhere the ramparts cuddle Lucca.It sounds right, spoken on the ridgebetween marine olives and hillsideblue figs, under the breeze freshwith pollen of Apennine sage.It feels soft, weed thick in the caveand the smooth wet riddance of Antonietta’sbathing suit, mouth ajar forsubmarine Amalfitan kisses.It looks well on the page, but neverwell enough. Something is lostwhen wind, sun, sea upbraidjustly an unconvinced deserter.”

“The mason stirs.Words!Pens are too light.Take a chisel to write.”