Billy Collins - from "Questions About Angels"

I chose to read six poems from Questions About Angels because it was published the year I was born. I ended up reading more than six because I was really enjoying them. Normally when I read poetry I don't really understand what is going on. I miss the underlying meaning or can't picture what the imagery is trying to describe. However, Billy Collins's poems are simple and easy to follow and understand. I found them very refreshing and felt rather calm and at peace when reading them, which may sound corny, but since I am usually frustrated or confused when reading poetry this feeling of contentment was novel and wonderful.

Here is a specific list of the poems I read: "American Sonnet", "Questions About Angels", "Forgetfulness", "The Dead", "The Man in the Moon", "Not Touching", and "Purity". Collectively, these poems had a solemn tone to them. They weren't depressing or even particularly sad but gave me this feeling that not all was well with the world, something was missing or out of place. For example, in "American Sonnet" Collins describes how the sender of a postcard wishes that they "were where you are" and that the picture on the front displays where they "have strayed." The wording he uses conveys a sense that the person on vacation sending the postcard is not entirely happy with where they are. People who send postcards are usually in some exotic location taking some time off for R&R. Here however, the vacationer wishes they were back home with the receiver of the postcard, feeling they have "strayed" from happiness.

Another aspect of Collins's writing that I am fond of is his organizational style. Each stanza has it's own little subject. I read it as being broken up into streams of thought. In "Purity" the first three stanzas take you through the speaker's process of getting ready to write. First they take their clothes off, then they remove their skin, and finally take out their organs. The fourth stanza declares they are ready to write. Then the fifth stanza is written as kind of a side note. It makes the poem easy to follow and conceptualize. Not all the poems I read were as obvious in their structure as "Purity", but they did seem to follow the same basic set up.

I was particularly struck by "Not Touching". The twelve line poem is one sentence, ten lines of which are a simile to describe the first two lines. The imagery was clear and put into focus exactly what the speaker is feeling. However, due to the simile's length I wondered if the focus of the poem was actually on the simile and not the supposed subject of not touching the person the speaker desires. This passing thought was lost in the exactness of the imagery upon my second reading. I liked the image Collins used because it is one that everyone has seen and is familiar with. I think that's part of why I like his poetry. It's easy to understand because he writes in a way that people of all ages and intelligences can relate to. I am really looking forward to his reading on Thursday.