When we're writing anything, we're bearing witness to the time we live in and how it's different from any other time in history.

I like to use research to enlarge the poem. And sometimes a rhetorical or syntactical gesture stitches the poem along.

It's extremely important that, as writers, we give a voice to those who don't have voices, including the other animals that we share the planet with and the places that are endangered or being lost.

Once you realize that human actions affect every bit of earth and sky, you realize that the environment isn't just what surrounds us - it's all one whole.

I am a result of what has happened on this planet - how could I find the art to say that? I can't, and yet, I am drawn to it because of the enormity of it. That seems really important.

Bringing science into poetry is one way of acknowledging some of the richest stuff that is in my cultural moment.

I've been accused of darkness by my inner light.

I don't know much about death and the sorriest lesson I've learned is that words, my most trusted guardians against chaos, offer small comfort in the face of anyone's dying.

What keeps me level is the refusal to let the best of human aspirations die in the face of the challenges. I make a moral decision to be hopeful.

We're nature. Our minds are nature. Our desire to make poetry is nature.

As writers, the world is not about individual expression entirely because we are producing works of literature and getting them out into the world.

Things which are accidentally the causes either of hope or fear are called good or evil omens.

My spiritual high naturally dissipated. At some point you've got to come out of the clouds and live real life. Again, it's just like falling in love. The feeling of euphoria is only temporary.

When you reach out to those you need to forgive, it is you that will be touched and healed.

There is no Hierarchy of Oppressions

Every single one of us can do something, however small, to make a difference.

Through Jesus, your past is explained, your present has a purpose, and your future is secure. What more could you really want in life?

When you're up against a superior enemy, sometimes it's okay to just bow out gracefully

I too have my own demons, and I have struggled. I've made my own mistakes, and I'm not proud of them.

I think I realized it was an art form at the beginning, but it took me a really long time before I was able to view what I was performing myself as an art form.

Drop envy and jealousy, otherwise there is no possibility , because love cannot exist where envy and jealousies exist.