I don't think anybody reads a book of poetry front to back. Editors and reviewers only. I don't think anybody else does.

One of the ridiculous aspects of being a poet is the huge gulf between how seriously we take ourselves and how generally we are ignored by everybody else.

A motto I've adopted is, if at first you don't succeed, hide all evidence that you ever tried.

The mind can be trained to relieve itself on paper.

Poetry is like standing on the edge of a lake on a moonlit night and the light of the moon is always pointing straight at you.

Nationalism is a type of insanity in which the boundaries of a land replace God.

In the process of simplifying oneself, one often discovers the thing called voice.

Write the poem only you can write.

But my heart is always propped up in a field on its tripod, ready for the next arrow.

But tonight, the lion of contentment has placed a warm heavy paw on my chest.

While the novelist is banging on his typewriter, the poet is watching a fly in the windowpane.

The greater the fruit a trees bears, the greater the number of stones thrown at it.

This planet is heaven but not for human beings.

Poetry is the beauty of life.

Pluto is dead, I know as I observed the Terminator that was sent to kill it

I've not cooked Christmas dinner since 1982.

I hear music and my feet just start moving.

I've developed a stiff neck that's about to drive me insane.

The lessons we learn, we must learn again and again.

When our minds really catch hold of the significance of Jesus' atonement, the world's hold on us loosens.

Mostly I play sports games - football and basketball. 'Inside Drive' and 'NFL Fever.'