“Poetry has isolated me from the world more than it has connected me to it.”

“One can't ever be sure what is more valuable: what has gone away, or what remains.”

“all that really matters to me is that there are critics.”

“Holding me, as it were, within the infinite hope of your plausibility.”

“I would like to make you more aware of yourself as a human, and thus, ultimately a better person.”

“I feel pretty good about it so far, but it's been a little harder to write than I'd hoped.”

“The problem with this poem, from your perspective, must be its lack of financial value. I guess my problem with you, from my perspective, is how you insist on putting a financial value on everything.”