A man is original when he speaks the truth that has always been known to all good men.

On the stem of memory imaginations blossom.

We are not alone in our loneliness, others have been here and known griefs we thought our special own.

There is something wrong with a work of art if it can be understood by a policeman.

God cannot catch us. Unless we stay in the unconscious room. Of our hearts.

A sweeping statement is the only statement worth listening to. The critic without faith gives balanced opinions, usually about second-rate writers.

Macmillan's rejection had left him very downcast... Patrick Swift was invited to peruse the contents and decided that the poems should be published.

It often occurs to me that we love most what makes us miserable. In my opinion the damned are damned because they enjoy being damned.

I dabbled in verse and it became my life

Malice is only another name for mediocrity.

What appears in newspapers is often new but seldom true.

It is winter, and very cold. There are icicles against the glass, and frost. I am tracing a pattern, before it melts. Before it fades, and is lost for good, like memories

I condemn the lack of proper investigation of the massacres and the impunity of those responsible for them.

I think Bowe Bergdahl, if he deserted, is a hero - I think throughout history we should build monuments to the unknown deserters.

I am double jointed in my elbow. So I can turn it all the way around and then bend it so it looks like it's broken.

No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.

The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion.

Joshua didn't say choose you next year whom you will serve; he spoke of "this day," while there is still daylight and before the darkness becomes more and more normal.

Actors take risks all the time. We put ourselves on the line. It is creative to be able to interpret someone's words and breathe life into them.

Awe is the salve that will heal our eyes.

Forgiveness is not between me and the one who has hurt me; it is between me and the Lord.