"Words have fallen prey to overconsumption - so many are used thoughtlessly. Paragraphs are saturated with unnecessary adjectives and useless adverbs. When I find myself caught in such a verbal funk, I shelter in the white spaces of poetry."

The lines of Taha Muhammad Ali in "So What: New & Selected Poems, 1971-2005" make a particularly good haven, as the clean simplicity of the diction allows for clarity in emotion.