“What three things can never be done?Forget. Keep silent. Stand alone.The hill of glass, the fatal brilliant plain.”

“Whereverwe walkwe will makeWhereverwe protestwe will go plantingMake poemsseed grassfeed a child growingbuild a houseWhatever we stand againstWe will stand feeding and seedingWherever I walkI will make”

“No one wants to read poetry. You have to make it impossible for them to put the poem down--impossible for them to stop reading it, word after word. You have to keep them from closing the book.”

“What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life?The world would split open.”

“He said he would be back and we'd drink wine togetherHe said that everything would be better than beforeHe said we were on the edge of a new relationHe said he would never again cringe before his fatherHe said that he was going to invent full-timeHe said he loved me that going into meHe said was going into the world and the skyHe said all the buckles were very firmHe said the wax was the best waxHe said Wait for me here on the beachHe said Just don't cryI remember the gulls and the wavesI remember the islands going dark on the seaI remember the girls laughingI remember they said he only wanted to get away from meI remember mother saying : Inventors are like poets, a trashy lotI remember she told me those who try out inventions are worseI remember she added : Women who love such are the worst of allI have been waiting all day, or perhaps longer.I would have liked to try those wings myself.It would have been better than this.”

“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.”

“If there were no poetry on any day in the world, poetry would be invented that day. For there would be an intolerable hunger.”