The first line is the DNA of the poem; the rest of the poem is constructed out of … - Billy Collins

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My mind was by no means easy about the need to carry out a clandestine action in the sovereign territory of a friendly country, and the question of whether it was permissible to do so — from both the ethical and political points of view — had to be faced in all its gravity.

Billy Collins

The first line is the DNA of the poem; the rest of the poem is constructed out of that first line. A lot of it has to do with tone because tone is the key signature for the poem. The basis of trust for a reader used to be meter and end-rhyme.

Dna, Key, Keys, Poem, Rest, Signatures

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One of the ridiculous aspects of being a poet is the huge gulf between how seriously we take ourselves and how generally we are ignored by everybody else.

Differences, Everybody, Gulf, Poetry, Self, Take

But tomorrow, dawn will come the way I picture her, barefoot and disheveled, standing outside my window in one of the fragile cotton dresses of the poor. She will look in at me with her thin arms extended, offering a handful of birdsong and a small cup of light.

Bird, Come, Light, Look, Offering, Way

A motto I've adopted is, if at first you don't succeed, hide all evidence that you ever tried.

Adopted, Firsts, Hide, Motto, Succeed

Poetry is like standing on the edge of a lake on a moonlit night and the light of the moon is always pointing straight at you.

Edge, Lake, Lakes, Moon, Night, Poetry

But my heart is always propped up in a field on its tripod, ready for the next arrow.

Arrows, Fields, Heart, Propped, Ready, Tripod