I'm smiled out, talked out, quipped out, socialized so far from any being, I need the weight of mortal silences to get realized back into myself.

Cifelli. Children's poems. ") He was popular enough and interesting enough to warrant a pair of appearances in the early 1960s on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

John Anthony Ciardi (pronounced /ˈtʃɑrdiː/ CHAR-dee; Italian: [ˈtʃardi]) (June 24 1916 – March 30 1986) was an American poet translator and etymologist. While primarily known as a poet he also translated Dante's Divine Comedy wrote several volumes of children's poetry pursued etymology contributed to the Saturday Review as a columnist and long-time poetry editor and directed the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in Vermont.