“the cat unsheathes its clawsthe world turns--from "Resovle", written 1956”

“I hurl my heart to halt his pace.--from "Pursuit", written 1956”

“we shall board our imagined ship and wildly sail among sacred islands of the mad till death shatters the fabulous stars and makes us real.--from "Tale of A Tub", written 1956”

“And I a smiling woman.I am only thirty.And like the cat I have nine times to die.-- from "Lady Lazarus", written 23-29 October 1962”

“In this particular tub, two knees jut uplike icebergs, while minute brown hairs riseon arms and legs in a fringe of kelp; green soapnavigates the tidal slosh of seasbreaking on legendary beaches; in faithwe shall board our imagined ship and wildly sailamong sacred islands of the mad till deathshatters the fabulous stars and makes us real.--from "Tale of a Tub", written 1956”

“Is it the sea you hear in me,Its dissatisfactions?Or the voice of nothing, that was you madness?--from "Elm", written 19 April 1962”

“I am inhabited by a cry. Nightly it flaps outLooking, with its hooks, for something to love.--from "Elm", written 19 April 1962”