You and I can turn and look at the silent river and wait. We know the current is there, hidden; and there are comings and goings from miles away that…

- William Stafford

Please think about this as you go on. Breathe on the world. Hold out your hands to it. When morning and evenings roll along, watch how they open and …

- William Stafford

I have woven a parachute out of everything broken.

- William Stafford

The Way It Is There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you are pursuing. You ha…

- William Stafford

You don't need many words if you already know what you're talking about

- William Stafford

Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music.

- William Stafford

Writing itself is one of the great, free human activities. There is scope for individuality, and elation, and discovery. In writing, for the person w…

- William Stafford

If you don't know the kind of person I am and I don't know the kind of person you are a pattern that others made may prevail in the world and followi…

- William Stafford

I embrace emerging experience, I participate in discovery. I am a butterfly. I am not a butterfly collector. I want the experience of the butterfly.

- William Stafford