“Poetry is – it’s an art form, but, to me, it’s also a weapon, it’s also an instrument. It’s the ability to make ideas that have been known, felt and said. And that’s a real, I think, type of duty for the poet.”

Poetry is the lens we use to interrogate the history we stand on and the future we stand for.

If a woman doesn’t give herself permission, who will?

No matter how you say it, the hill we climb is a hill we climb together.

I think it made me all that much stronger of a writer when you have to teach yourself how to say words from scratch.

When you’re someone who’s lived a life where certain resources were scarce, you always feel like abundance is forbidden fruit.

What a day. What a life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you

When you have to teach yourself how to say sounds, when you have to be highly concerned about pronunciation, it gives you a certain awareness of sonics, of the auditory experience.

It was so incredible meeting Lady Gaga. I mean I’m gaga for Gaga, literally. We kind of just each flew to each other like magnets after the ceremony ended and we were both just crying and hugging.

We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace and the norms and notions of what just is, isn’t always justice.

It wasn’t until I was named Youth Poet Laureate of L.A. in high school though that I officially began calling myself a poet. I just always loved writing, period.

We know. We believe. And we act, because it is our civic duty.

When they tell you to go back to where you come from, tell them proudly that this is where you come from.

I was writing since I can remember – I just didn’t know it was poetry yet, or that writing could be a career.

I was born early, along with my twin, and a lot of times, for infants, that can lead to learning delays.

But as for the future, I foresee a world which is more creative, more open, more loving, more ecologically friendly, more honest about its history and progress, and I think a lot of those contributions will be made by young people.

As a public poet, people often don’t see the reality of my life.

If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create.

In painting, you have unlimited power. You have the ability to move mountains. You can bend rivers. But when I get home, the only thing I have power over is the garbage.

Ability is a poor man’s wealth.

If your title disappears, does your ability to influence?

Mutual caring relationships require kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism, joy in the other’s achievements, confidence in oneself, and the ability to give without undue thought of gain.

What a weary time those years were – to have the desire and the need to live but not the ability.

Change starts with energy, outlook, belief, and the ability to notice the great things happening around you. 

Political judgment is the ability to hear the distant hoofbeats of the horse of history.