"All knowledge is precious whether or not it serves the slightest human use." — A. E. Housman

I could no more define poetry than a terrier can define a rat.

If a line of poetry strays into my memory, my skin bristles so that the razor ceases to act.

Even when poetry has a meaning, as it usually has, it may be inadvisable to draw it out... Perfect understanding will sometimes almost extinguish pleasure.

Experience has taught me, when I am shaving of a morning, to keep watch over my thoughts, because, if a line of poetry strays into my memory, my skin bristles so that the razor ceases to act.