"A poem is never a put-up job, so to speak. It begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness."

"A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom."

"I'm not a politician, and I'm not a public speaker. I'm a poet, and I'm going to say what I think, and if you don't like it, you can lump it."

"Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it."

"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not."