Back Then, I Couldn't Have Left A

Now I Must Wait And Be Still And Say Nothing I Don't Know, Nothing I Haven't Lived Over And Over, And That's Everything.

I'm Afraid We Live At The Mercy Of A Power, Maybe A God, Without Mercy. And Yet We Find It, As I Have, From Others.

For Sure I Once Thought Of Myself As The Poet Who Would Save The Ordinary From Oblivion.

Corruption Is Subtle, Just Like The Bible Said. Many Young Poets Have Come To Me And Asked, How Am I Gonna Make It? They Feel, And Often With Considerable Justice, That They Are Being Overlooked While Others With Less Talent Are Out There Making Careers For Themselves. I Always Give The Same Advice. I Say, Do It The Hard Way, And You’ll Always Feel Good About Yourself. You Write Because You Have To, And You Get This Unbelievable Satisfaction From Doing It Well. Try To Live On That As Long As You’re Able.

I Have A Sense That Many Americans, Especially Those Like Me With European Or Foreign Parents, Feel They Have To Invent Their Families Just As They Have To Invent Themselves.