On Poetry and Craft [excerpt]

The poem, even a short time after being written,

seems no miracle; unwritten, it seems

something beyond the capacity of the gods.

                          *

Art is the means we have of undoing the damage of

haste. It's what everything else isn't.

                          *

You can't make poetry simply by avoiding clichés.

                          *

There's a point where plainness is no longer a virtue,

when it becomes excessively bald, wrenched.

                          *

You must believe: a poem is a holy thing -- a good poem,

that is.