Author: Billy Collins

It could be the name of a prehistoric beast That roamed the Paleozoic earth, rising up On its hind legs […]

What scene would I want to be enveloped in More than this one, An ordinary night at the kitchen table, […]

There is a section in my library for death And another for Irish history, A few shelves for the poetry […]

As sure as prehistoric fish grew legs And sauntered off the beaches into forests Working up some irregular verbs for […]

In most self-portraits it is the face that dominates: Cezanne is a pair of eyes swimming in brushstrokes, Van Gogh […]

I have never been fishing on the Susquehanna Or on any river for that matter To be perfectly honest. Not […]

You know the brick path in the back of the house, The one you see from the kitchen window, The […]

It is possible to be struck by a Meteor or a single-engine plane while Reading in a chair at home. […]

“Every time we get a big gale around here some people just refuse to batten down.” We estimate that Ice […]

How agreeable it is not to be touring Italy this summer, Wandering her cities and ascending her torrid hilltowns. How […]

You are the bread and the knife, The crystal goblet and the wine… – Jacques Crickillon You are the bread […]

The neighbors’ dog will not stop barking. He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark That he barks every time […]

I wonder how it all got started, this business About seeing your life flash before your eyes While you drown, […]

Tonight the moon is a cracker, With a bite out of it Floating in the night, And in a week […]

Baudelaire considers you his brother, And Fielding calls out to you every few paragraphs As if to make sure you […]

The murkiness of the local garage is not so dense That you cannot make out the calendar of pinup Drawings […]

All afternoon I have been struggling To communicate in Italian With Roberto and Giuseppe, who have begun To resemble the […]

Today I pass the time reading A favorite haiku, Saying the few words over and over. It feels like eating […]

This is not bad Ambling along 44th Street With Sonny Rollins for company, His music flowing through the soft calipers […]

If ever there were a spring day so perfect, So uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze That it made you […]