as we near the end of april and the end of national poetry month—it's been a great month of reading poetry, in addition to 30 days' worth of other good reading, too—here is a thought about poetry from billy collins:
~ Poetry doesn't need to keep up with the news; poetry is the news. And the news is very simple: life is beautiful and you are going to die. Read all about it.
the rain stops.
the sun entices.
today we passed drought—earth choking,
cracked, mean—
and arrived at a nicer stop
called wave-a-wand green.
what i am seeing
this morning through the windowpane
seems, to me at least, like magic
as if while i traveled the hours
my eyes closed, i dozed
and when i opened them again
i suddenly discovered
a treasure trove of emeralds—
bright, weighty, priceless, yet
every last one of them
free.
4 comments:
Gawd I love Billy Collins. He's changed the face of poetry, made it more accessible to all, and especially to young students. He's a joy!
What I like even more than reading him is listening to him read. He can be seen on Youtube, but my favorite is a CD my husband gave me last year (or the year before?): Billy Collins Live: A Performance at the Peter Norton Symphony Space. The introduction is by Bill Murray, and the whole CD is fabulous and hysterical.
Are there really only five days of April left? Ah! Mother heads north tomorrow to open our place in Stetson. :)
oh, jayne, what a wonderful husband to give you billy collins.
stetson, really? just a spit away near newport on 95, you fly right past our door. come on down--we should meet at the local hangout, gritty mcduffs. wouldn't it be fun to have a gathering of even more bloggers.....
Yes, really! Would love to meet at mcduffs! Know it well. :)
Seriously- sometime this summer. I'll keep you posted as to trips. Btw- I've been searching for an old teacher of mine (my very favorite) from 5th grade. A Mr. Walter E. Sawyer. I think he's up your way. Know him by any chance?
i don't know him, sorry to say. where did you go to school? see you in maine!
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