I was always making up rhymes. But I never thought that poetry would become my life.

I hardly remember how I started to write poetry. It's hard to imagine what I thought poetry could do.

When I was asked to be Writer in Residence at Edinburgh I thought you can't teach poetry. This is ridiculous.

However I learned something. I thought that if the young person the student has poetry in him or her to offer them help is like offering a propeller to a bird.

I've always had a love for poetry and when I got signed to a record label I thought 'How odd that I'm doing a record before a book of poetry '

A theology should be like poetry which takes us to the end of what words and thoughts can do.

I never thought I'd be doing poetry books. I never really studied poetry. But the first one I did was after my mother died and I realized that people sort of think and talk about her style and fashion but in fact what made her the person she was was really her love of reading and ideas.

The subject of Finnish poetry ought to have a special interest for the Japanese student if only for the reason that Finnish poetry comes more closely in many respects to Japanese poetry than any other form of Western poetry.

I thought to spend my declining years writing poetry and teaching - but that won't pay the Bergdorf's bill. I think I'll move to somewhere life is cheaper.

I came into music because I thought the presentation of poetry wasn't vibrant enough. So I merged improvised poetry with basic rock chords.

When I was younger I felt it was my duty to wake people up. I thought poetry was asleep. I thought rock 'n' roll was asleep.

I always thought that poetry is the verdict that others give to a certain kind of writing. So to call yourself a poet is a kind of dangerous description. It's for others it's for others to use.

Poetry should surprise by a fine excess and not by singularity it should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts and appear almost a remembrance.

Poetry is thoughts that breathe and words that burn.

Poetry should... should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts and appear almost a remembrance.

I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything.

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.

To this day I don't ever remember seeing a pet inside Moscow I never saw anyone carrying a dog or leading a dog. Err I finally saw a a pet some years later in Kiev so I thought that life must have been different.

Gypsy was the name my brother gave a pet turtle he had. I always thought it was so peculiar.

We've begun to long for the pitter-patter of little feet - so we bought a dog. Well it's cheaper and you get more feet.

A desire arises in the mind. It is satisfied immediately another comes. In the interval which separates two desires a perfect calm reigns in the mind. It is at this moment freed from all thought love or hate. Complete peace equally reigns between two mental waves.

Well I think by any expectation South Africa has come a tremendously long way. We've seen a society that many people thought couldn't withstand a peaceful transition to democracy without a great deal of violence in fact make that transition and do it in relative peace and security.

Every animal has his or her story his or her thoughts daydreams and interests. All feel joy and love pain and fear as we now know beyond any shadow of a doubt. All deserve that the human animal afford them the respect of being cared for with great consideration for those interests or left in peace.

The law of nations is naturally founded on this principle that different nations ought in time of peace to do one another all the good they can and in time of war as little injury as possible without prejudicing their real interests.