I am composed of contradictions, which is why poetry is a better form for me than philosophy

In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot.

The voice of passion is better than the voice of reason. The passionless cannot change history.

The purpose of poetry is to remind us how difficult it is to remain just one person, for our house is open, there are no keys in the doors, and invisible guests come in and out at will.

The soul exceeds its circumstances.

Not that I want to be a god or a hero. Just to change into a tree, grow for ages, not hurt anyone.

Consolation Calm down. Both your sins and your good deeds will be lost in oblivion.

Do not feel safe. The poet remembers. You can kill one, but another is born. The words are written down, the deed, the date.

The history of my stupidity would fill many volumes.

When a writer is born into a family, the family is finished.

The true enemy of man is generalization.

Anyhow, a philosophical turn of thought now was not amiss, else one's patience would have given out almost at the harbour entrance. The term of her probation was eight days.

I'm not very disciplined. I tend to write late at night because I get distracted during the day.

Ronald Reagan is clearly to television what Franklin Roosevelt was to radio.

Running a boat isn't that hard. Just takes doing. Most or all women I ever knew were discouraged from running boats, but it was too late with me.

He who cannot resist temptation is not a man. Whoever yields to temptation debases himself with a debasement from which he can never arise.

And of course to work with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, and work with a wonderful, beautiful script directed by Nancy Meyers, it was really for me a dream come true.

I'm kind of a germ freak. When I get on a plane, I spray my seat and everything with Lysol Disinfectant Spray.

At the end, we're kind of observers - creative people, I mean. I feel like an observer, and I'm pretty much able to step out of things and see how things are playing out.

If a species is diverse, it can survive and prosper. If a species is homogeneous, it is vulnerable.

Imagination...is the irrepressible revolutionist.