I wonder if I ever thought of an ideal reader... I guess when I was in my 20s and in New York and maybe even in my early 30s I would write for my wife Janice... mainly for my poet friends and my wife who was very smart about poetry.

I was excited by what my painter friends were doing and they seemed to be interested in our poetry too and that was a wonderful little fizzy sort of world.

And my father was a comic. He could play any musical instrument. He loved to perform. He was a wonderfully comedic character. He had the ability to dance and sing and charm and analyze poetry.

Auden said poetry makes nothing happen. But I wonder if the opposite could be true. It could make something happen.

Poetry is always slightly mysterious and you wonder what is your relationship to it.

When you're going through something whether it's a wonderful thing like having a child or a sad thing like losing somebody you often feel like 'Oh my God I'm so overwhelmed I'm dealing with this huge thing on my own.' In fact poetry's a nice reminder that no everybody goes through it. These are universal experiences.

Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder with a dash of the dictionary.

Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.

I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.

Give your dog or cat respect patience understanding and love. And if you just change to one vegetarian day a week that's a wonderful step that will save animal lives. It means you have chosen something kind instead of something cruel.