Poem of the Day – 04142024

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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.

4 thoughts on “Poem of the Day – 04142024”

  2. Sometimes I feel like the one trying to tie the poem to the chair. There’s a lot of poetry on here, and it’s not my first love. But I’m trying to understand, and I’m getting better at it, I think. This Billy Collins makes it easier—don’t try to analyze the heck out of it. Concentrate on how it makes you feel.

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    1. I understand completely. When, I caught the poetry bug, I use to beat my head against the wall trying to understand all the different styles and forms of poetry. A friend introduced me to Collins’ work it helped me so much. Because of National Poetry Month, I wanted to share the simplistic nature of Collins work.

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