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

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.

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.

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

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.

Bring it, grizzly. Show me what you've got.

The power to concentrate was the most important thing. Living without this power would be like opening one’s eyes without seeing anything.

She ran into the bathroom and powdered her face and the front of her dress, drew a surrealistic version of a mouth beneath her nose, and dashed into her bedroom to find a coat.

An aircraft which is used by wealthy people on their expense accounts, whose fares are subsidized by much poorer taxpayers.

It is not what you teach, but what you emphasize.

I'm inspired by my family, especially my mother.

I'm against abortion. On the other hand, I believe in a woman's choice.

Act swiftly and vigorously, without 'buts' and 'ifs'.

Ain't no man can avoid being born average, but there ain't no man got to be common.

Work is taking the raw material of creation and developing it for the sake of others.