Wednesday poem

Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a colour slide or press an ear against it's hive I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out or walk inside a 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 authors 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 by beating it with a hose to find out what it really means. I found this poem whilst blog browsing (it may be a waste of many hours, but there are occasional gems to be found). I had never heard of Billy Collins, I find that he is amongst the most well loved of modern American poets, but I have requested something from the library to become better acquainted. I loved what this poem says about the way poetry is taught. I really loved the line about 'feel the walls for a light switch', it captures so wonderfully the subtleties of understanding.