Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forgetfalls drop by drop upon the heart,until, in our own despair,against our will,comes wisdomthrough the awful grace of God. — Aeschylus as quoted by Robert F. Kennedy in his speech announcing the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
… it is we ourselves who call forth the spirits through our own myth-making. — Pablo Neruda, from “Nobel Lecture,” December 13, 1971
I can’t tell you where a poem comes from, what it is, or what it is for: nor can any other. The reason I can’t tell you is that the purpose of a poem is to go past telling, to be recognized by burning. — A. R. Ammons, “A Poem is a Walk,” Temple Poetry.… Continue reading A. R. Ammons
The poem is lonely. It is lonely and en route. — Paul Celan, from “The Meridian,” Paul Celan: Selections. (University of California Press; 1st edition, March 14, 2005)
The Vale of Soul-Making 