I'm mostly influenced by life, what's around me, and my own childhood.

In masks and gown we haunt the street And knock on doors for trick or treat Tonight we are the king and queen, For oh tonight it's Halloween!

My reading is extremely eclectic. Lately I've been teaching myself computer graphics, so I'm reading a lot about that. I read books of trivia, of facts.

A poet is not something you become; a poet is something you are.

Then I decided to draw from and on my own imagination, and everything came out perfect.

She comes by night, in fearsome flight, in garments black as pitch, the queen of doom upon her broom, the wild and wicked witch.

We all need ways to express ourselves, and poetry is one of mine.

Writing gives me the opportunity to explore ideas, play with language, solve problems, use my imagination, and draw on my own childhood.

Poetry seems to sink into us the way prose doesn't. I can still quote verses I learned when I was very young, but I have trouble remembering one line of a novel I just finished reading.

Children seem naturally drawn to poetry - it's some combination of the rhyme, rhythm, and the words themselves.

I always knew would be some sort of artist, but didn't know what.

You don't take a photograph, you make it.

There’s always music. Everywhere.

a story is ready when it falls from your face

this was an environment built, not for man, but for man's absence.

My office is at Yankee stadium. Yes, dreams do come true.

One of my favorite people I got to meet was my childhood idol, Vincent Price. I got to not only meet him, but become friendly with him before he passed away.

I was raised by two women, and that laid the groundwork for the way I treat 'em: with the utmost respect and admiration.

Talking jaw is better than going to war.

I think everyone on the planet is a fan of a painting because everyone is a fan of visual stimulation, but I've had freedom in the world [of painting] because I've kept it to myself.

Gardens are our link with the divine.