How to Be a PoetiMake a place to sit down. You must depend uponaffection, reading, knowledge,skill—more of eachthan you have—inspiration,work, growing older, patience,for patience joins timeto eternity. iiBreathe with unconditional breaththe unconditioned air. Stay away from anythingthat obscures the place it is in. Of the little words that comeout of the silence, like prayersprayed back to the one who prays,make a poem that does not disturbthe silence from which it came.