Author: Billy Collins

Smokey the Bear heads Into the autumn woods With a red can of gasoline And a box of wooden matches. […]

I am standing on a disused iron bridge That was erected in 1902, According to the iron plaque bolted into […]

The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache […]

The way the dog trots out the front door Every morning Without a hat or an umbrella, Without any money […]

I turn around on the gravel And go back to the house for a book, Something to read at the […]

Now it is time to say what you have to say. The room is quiet. The whirring fan has been […]

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 […]