The Hornbooks of Rita K Quotes

“And sure enough, there it was,
not the sought-after needle, but,
to my agreeable astonishment,
the haystack in the field by the lane.”
― Robert Kroetsch, The Hornbooks of Rita K

“Attunement of one's feet to the bald and hairy earth.
Consider the blackbird, perched on a reed, a north wind
blowing, the water torn. Now is the poem's beginning,
even at this late hour in the span of everywhere. Consider
the lovers, with not enough arms for all their need to
embrace. Or, if you prefer, consider the madness of wars,
the impossible weight of oceans. And even if we had been
there, would we have laughed or cried?”
― Robert Kroetsch, The Hornbooks of Rita K

“You of the almighty zap,
Zeusifer, loose and zany,
let me sizzle on your throne
for maybe forty-eight seconds;
I've had enough of your poetry crap,
just give me the last word of this poem.”
― Robert Kroetsch, The Hornbooks of Rita K

“Finding a lover is a false start.
Fibrillations of the pitipat heart.
The search for truth is a bum steer.
It's much more likely we're looking for beer.
What can I possibly rhyme with mud?
Is "pod" close enough? Or "good"?
It is the sentence that (sometimes) thinks.
All the rest is twats and dinks.”
― Robert Kroetsch, The Hornbooks of Rita K

“A poem is an empty house.
[Stranger, you must enter, then knock.]”
― Robert Kroetsch, The Hornbooks of Rita K