Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins for National Poetry Month

[dragonyphoenix]

My teacher handed this one out in class last night.

Introduction to Poetry 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.

Comments

[mostly-irish.livejournal.com]

Oh! This is one of my favorite poems of all time! When I was getting my masters, one of my poetry professors handed each of us a copy at the start of his first class. I have kept mine ever since posted on my cork board at work. it's so simple, but so true. :)

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

It is an amazing poem. I'd never seen it before although that's hardly surprising since I've just recently gotten interested in poetry.