I do not crave the boon Of Immortality;
I do not want the moon, Nor yet the rainbow's key.I do not yearn for wings, Or fins to swim the sea;
I merely want the things That are not good for me.

I have no ambitions nor desires.
To be a poet is not my ambition,
It's simply my way of being alone.

I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing.

Any pleasure I took in life I now renounce; it’s death I want.

I want no secrets or soul-states, nothing ineffable; I am neither
virgin nor priest enough to play with the inner life.

I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing

But I no longer had a taste for anything, a wish for anything, a love for anybody, a desire for anything whatever, any ambition, or any hope.

The gold booty of Gyges means nothing to me.
I don't envy that Lydian king, nor am I jealous
of what gods can do, nor of the tyrants' great
powers. All these are realms beyond my vision.

There is no such thing as a cheerful poem [...] Happiness writes in water, not ink.

Do not romanticize suffering. There is nothing poetic about a love that breaks your spirit.

There is no pathos in real misery, no luxury in real grief.

With aversion for sect superiors and their pomp,
I have no wish for monk disciples;
Not in search of lay supporters,
I court the favor of no one.

You won't make yourself a bit realer by crying.

I may turn out an intellectual, but I'll never write anything but mediocre poetry.