“You must believe: a poem is a holy thing — a good poem, that is.”
Poetry and Craft (1965)
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Theodore Roethke 86
American poet 1908–1963Related quotes

Variant translation:
Who says my poems are poems?
My poems are not poems.
After you know my poems are not poems,
Then we can begin to discuss poetry!
"Zen Poetics of Ryokan" in Simply Haiku: A Quarterly Journal of Japanese Short Form Poetry (Summer 2006) http://www.hermitary.com/articles/ryokan_poetics.html
Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf : Zen Poems of Ryokan (1993)
"Answers to Questions," from Mid-Century American Poets, edited by John Ciardi, 1950 [p. 171]
Kipling, Auden & Co: Essays and Reviews 1935-1964 (1980)

“It is a pretty poem, Mr. Pope; but you must not call it Homer.”
Of Pope's translation of The Iliad — as quoted in The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. in Eleven Volumes by John Hawkins, Vol. IV (1787), The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, "Life of Pope", footnote on p. 126.
“There is no such thing as a silent poem.”
BBC Radio 4 broadcast, July 2, 2000

“To write good poems is the secret of brevity.”
Simplicity http://www.poetrysoup.com/famous/poem/21390/Simplicity
From the poems written in English

What is a Poem - Endword - Selected Poems (1926)