Of course there are regrets. I shall regret always that I found my own authentic voice in politics. I was too conservative too conventional. Too safe too often. Too defensive. Too reactive. Later too often on the back foot.

I was in elective politics for 24 years. I've made four national races two for President two for Vice President. I have found there are other ways to serve and I'm enjoying them.

Politics isn't just a game of clashing parties and competing interests. The right reason is to challenge the status quo to serve the common good and to leave this nation better than we found it.

I played by the rules of politics as I found them.

That's the way it is with poetry: When it is incomprehensible it seems profound and when you understand it it is only ridiculous.

I found that it wasn't so oddball to like music and poetry and visual arts they're kindred spirits.

It is true that short forms of poetry have been cultivated in the Far East more than in modern Europe but in all European literature short forms of poetry are to be found - indeed quite as short as anything in Japanese.

Translation is an interestingly different way to be involved both with poetry and with the language that I've found myself living in much of the time. I think the two feed each other.

By the general process of epic poetry I mean the way this form of art has constantly responded to the profound needs of the society in which it was made.

You know bad poetry I wrote in high school can still be found on the Internet and you know there's a Web log of our college newspaper. You know there's so many different stages of my creative development are sort of on-record if somebody were to choose to look for them.