“The country is not a place to escape to, but a place to live in.”

Emphasizing rural life as an inhabited reality rather than a romantic retreat · Prose essays, as commonly attributed

• Beauty
• Nature

“I write poetry because I cannot help it.”

Presenting poetry as an involuntary rather than professional activity · Conversation, as reported in biographical accounts

• Art
• Poetry

“The road is an old friend to me.”

Reflecting his enduring companionship with walking and the landscape · Prose writing and letters

• Friendship
• Nature

“I am not a poet, and I never wanted to be a poet.”

Expressing his reluctance to adopt the identity of a poet · Letters and autobiographical remarks

• Poetry
• Solitude

“I had never thought of writing poetry until I was nearly forty.”

A modest account of poetry arriving late and unexpectedly in his life · Essay, How I Began to Be a Poet

• Poetry
• Time