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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
Famous Poems
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The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost
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If You Forget Me
Pablo Neruda
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Dreams
Langston Hughes
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Annabel Lee
Edgar Allan Poe
-
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Robert Frost
-
If
Rudyard Kipling
-
Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep
Mary Elizabeth Frye
-
I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You
Pablo Neruda
-
Television
Roald Dahl
-
A Dream Within A Dream
Edgar Allan Poe
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
That's sad!
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
The fate of introduction to poetry. (Report) Reply
Poetry like life cannot always be figured out, sometimes the real beauty is simply in the participating in/with it. (Report) Reply
Such a meaningful poem, Billy.... congrats for being picked...10++++ (Report) Reply
Here Them is the word we have to decipher its targeted category first. Otherwise another mistake we will have to commit again to misjudge the Poet. (Report) Reply
The poem's room! ! Thanks for sharing. (Report) Reply
Brilliantly expressed. Beautiful poem with lofty insight. (Report) Reply
Excellent poem. Hilarious situation.. Best Introduction to Poetry, better than I had when I was still studying the matter at my faculty of letters. Thank you for your subtile humor, which I like very much. Thank you for sharing much sun on a grey day. A TEN for your entertainment of this class, Billy. Regards from Silly, I MEAN Sylvie of course, (Report) Reply
This is so lovely.There is this new collection of poems Soul Etchings. It features a new style and refreshing forms. you can get the poem here goo.gl/KkhYF0 (Report) Reply
This is so lovely. There's a new collection Soul Etchings. It portrays Originality, Style and a refreshing sense of form. These poets may be the futrue of Poetry, you can get the collection here goo.gl/KkhYF0 (Report) Reply
But dear Frank, please need not to go, these poems suffice. Thank you.