From Charles Olson, The Collected Poems --

These Days

whatever you have to say, leave
the roots on, let them
dangle

And the dirt

Just to make clear
where they came from

I first read this poem while riding an AC Transit bus between Oakland and Berkeley. I loved the fact that, in between the ads for pregnancy clinics and performance arts groups, there were words I could obsess on. My goal as an intellectual is to follow this advice. I still have a long way to go.