"What makes a poem a poem is the way it sounds. It must sound right. It must have the sound of sense."

"I never ask of a pupil who has written a poem, 'What does it mean?' I always ask, 'How did you arrive at that?'"

"There are two kinds of teachers: those who fill you with so much that you can't move, and those who give you just a little prod that sets you off in the right direction."

"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence."

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."