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Billy Collins
Billy Collins
(22 March 1941 - / New York City)
Poems by Billy Collins : 16 / 52
Introduction To Poetry
Poem by Billy Collins
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
Poems by Billy Collins : 16 / 52
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Read poems about / on: poem, light, poetry
Poem Submitted: Monday, January 13, 2003
Billy Collins's Other Poems
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- Annabel LeeEdgar Allan Poe
- IfRudyard Kipling
- Stopping By Woods On A Snowy EveningRobert Frost
- TelevisionRoald Dahl
all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.// it wonders me(Report)Reply
Vivid imagery indeed. All the ways you can teach poetry. I know. I did that.(Report)Reply
To torture a poem to it squeals we see our destiny.(Report)Reply
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore. ||| brilliant writing, brilliant poem shared(Report)Reply
poems suck and make noooooooo sense im only on here for school(Report)Reply
That's not true. Poetry is more than some lame homework, Perhaps you haven't found the right poem yet. But you will, only if you search. Search out of your coursework. XO
Nice.. check out dream world by ankusha for some more wonderful poems...(Report)Reply
Thanks for poem Iove it(Report)Reply
fxck this is shxt lolAlready ReportedReply
A great poem, thank you Billy for sharing(Report)Reply
How can I contribute a poem here? Thanks!(Report)Reply
I love this poem for your humour, you see the funny side of people trying their damndest to find more in a poet than, maybe, was ever intended.(Report)Reply
ha ha very nice. Felt it quite well(Report)Reply
...dropp a mouse into a poem. Nicely written and well communicated. SYLVA-ONYEMA UBA(Report)Reply
Your poem was amazing(Report)Reply
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out, Love it.(Report)Reply
Plain diction but rich in metaphor.(Report)Reply
i like this poem a lot good job billy(Report)Reply
Over analysis of anything is never good,
You end up with nothing, understood,
Like a dried out dish, that's overcooked.
This is a striking poem not only for the original images and metaphors but also because of how vividly the poet presents his case.(Report)Reply
Yes, we sometimes, truly struggle with some poems. Still, poet may have a definite objective in his/her mind, when the poem is crafted, like viewing it against light like a slide, or dropping a mouse in to it and watching how it would struggle to get out or finding walls in a room of poem etc. etc. It makes us thinking, indeed. Enjoyed. Thanks for sharing. X(Report)Reply
Funny the ways trying to know a poem.Wonderful write.10(Report)Reply