Poems are to be savoured. I hate the notion of dissecting them; I think they are meant to be read, enjoyed, re-read – but not ‘solved.’ And, yes, even in the classroom. To celebrate World Poetry Day, why not read a few poems?
Introduction to Poetry – Billy Collins
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
walk inside the 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 author’s 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 beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
I love Billy Collins. I am also partial to T.S. Eliot, Gerard Manley Hopkins, W. H. Auden
Who are your favourite poets? Favourite poems?
The Ludic Reader 