There is rust in my mouth, the stain of an old kiss.
"The Lost Lie" from The Divorce Papers- 45 Mercy Street - 1976.
"August 17th" from Scorpio, Bad Spider, Die: The Horoscope Poems - Words for Dr. Y - 1978.
I am stuffing your mouth with your promises and watching you vomit them out upon my face.
"Killing the Love"- 45 Mercy Street - 1976.
Even so, I must admire your skill. You are so gracefully insane.
Referring to Robert Lowell - "Elegy in the Classroom" - To Bedlam and Part Way Back - 1960.
"Letters to Dr. Y."- Words for Dr. Y - 1978.
We are all writing God's poem.
Quoted in "Into the Lion's Den" by Erica Jong - The Guardian - The Guardian 26 October 2000.
The tongue, the Chinese say, is like a sharp knife: it kills without drawing blood.
"The Dead Heart"- The Awful Rowing Toward God - 1975.