Shalom Freedman (Troy New York)

I WOULD LIKE TO WRITE A BILLY COLLINS’ POEM

I would like to write a Billy Collins poem-
Not for Billy Collins
But to show that I could be as imaginative in story
As humorous and humane as he is-

But I can’t write that poem.

I don’t have his gift for the everyday experience
And for surprising metaphor
For those qualities good poets ordinarily have-

I would like to write a Billy Collins poem
To show that I can be a good poet too.
But probably I am just a different kind of thing entirely.

Still reading Billy Collins poems has added a bit
To my sense of what Poetry is-

It is remarkable all the wonderful gifts others have
One can appreciate
Without having oneself.