“I held a jewel in my fingers And went to sleep. The day was warm, and winds were prosy; I said: "'T will keep."I woke and chid my honest fingers,—The gem was gone; And now an amethyst remembrance Is all I own.”

“If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?”

“After you went, a low wind warbled through the house like a spacious bird, making it high but lonely. When you had gone the love came. I supposed it would. The supper of the heart is when the guest has gone.”

“I took my Power in my Hand --And went against the World --'Twas not so much as David -- had --But I -- was twice as bold --I aimed by Pebble -- but MyselfWas all the one that fell --Was it Goliath -- was too large --Or was myself -- too small?”

“I'll tell you how the sun rose, a ribbon at a time.The steeples swam in amethyst, The news like squirrels ran. The hills untied their bonnets,The bobolinks begun.Then I said softly to myself,"That must have been the sun!”

“If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.”

“Harm is one of those things that I always mean to keep clear of, but somehow my intentions and me don't chime as they ought, and people will get hit with stones that I throw at my neighbor's dogs...”