So on 11-12-13 Judith and I go to Rollins College to hear Billy Collins, the U.S. Poet Laureate and a Winter Park neighbor. His newest book is called Aimless Love. He shared readings from this plus many of his other poems. What a delightful, funny, and thoughtful event because that is Billy, and his writing reflects the man.
My added bonus was the feeling of being sophisticated by osmosis from being dipped into what felt like a room full of English majors (I married one). Despite my business degrees, I could appreciate the poetry, but more importantly, the poet's keen mind, wit, and way with words. Invest a few minutes to catch The Lanyard. Your mother will appreciate it.
I've pasted a YouTube video of Billy reading "The Lanyard."
And if you're so moved to scroll a bit further, you can read Poet Envy, the poem that Billy inspired me to write.
Poet Envy
The poet writes in stanzas
And I develop sentences, into paragraphs, into chapters.
The poet postures by looking outward from within
And I internalize the world and offer up deep reflection.
The poet amuses himself and jots it down
And I am bound by order, context, and flow.
The poet creates with gestational ease
And I conceive, carry, birth, and raise.
The poet leans upon the dais reading from his poems
And I stand before them nakedly without notes.
The poet opens pages and recites his children
And I develop my opening, middle, and close.
Oh to be a writer of verse instead of prose.
This poem took me 30 minutes instead of 30 months.