“The material's out there, a calm lake waiting for us to dive in.”

“I still don't know how to work out a poem. A poem needs understanding through the senses. The point of diving into a lake is not immediately to swim to the shore, but to be in the lake, to luxuriate in the sensation of water. You do not work the lake out, it is an experience beyond thought. Poetry soothes and emboldens the soul to accept the mystery.”

“You are not too old and it is not too lateto dive into your increasing depths where life calmly gives out its own secret.”

“Her pupils have taken on a lonely hue, like grey clouds reflected in a calm lake.”

“I contempleted the lake; the waters were placid, all around was calm and the snowy mountains... the calm and heavenly scene restored me and I continued my journey toward Geneva.”

“Do tears not yet spilled wait in small lakes?”