It is not possible, for a poet, writing in any language, to protect himself from the tragic elements in human life.... [ellipsis in source] Illness, old age, and death—subjects as ancient as humanity—these are the subjects that the poet must speak of very nearly from the first moment that he begins to speak.
ATTRIBUTION:
Louise Bogan (1897–1970), U.S. poet. As quoted in Our Ground Time Here Will be Brief, Epigram, by Maxine Kumin (1982).
