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Despair
by Billy Collins
So much gloom and doubt in our poetry—
flowers wilting on the table,
the self regarding itself in a watery mirror.
Dead leaves cover the ground,
the wind moans in the chimney,
and the tendrils of the yew tree inch toward the coffin.
I wonder what the ancient Chinese poets
would make of all this,
these shadows and empty cupboards?
Today, with the sun blazing in the trees,
my thoughts turn to the great
tenth-century celebrator of experience,
Wa-Hoo, whose delight in the smallest things
could hardly be restrained,
and to his joyous counterpart in the western provinces,
Ye-Hah.
Sorry. I should probably have given you a *snort alert.* Thank you, Billy Collins for a good dose of humor along with our gloom and despair.
Karen at Karen Edmisten (The Blog with the Shockingly Clever Title) has the roundup this week. Grab a cup of coffee and head on over!
Billy Collins! Gotta love him.
ReplyDeleteI could have used that snort alert! I love Billy Collins and didn't know this one--thanks for the introduction and the snort!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sally. Gotta love BC.
ReplyDeleteYe-Hah, my favorite!
ReplyDeleteLove the humor! Thanks for sharing amidst the gloom of our winter of discontent.
ReplyDeleteNice to receive a smile this morning, Mary Lee!
ReplyDeleteLove this dose of humor compliments of Billy Collins. I'm curious. Is it a new poem?
ReplyDeleteBC's humor is always refreshing.
ReplyDeleteHah! Love this!!! Wahoo!! Really needed this lift. Thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Mary Lee! Thank you for the Billy Collins and the snort! Just what I needed this morning!
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, literal me, wants to know if there was a real person called either of those names.
ReplyDeleteI know, I know. Sense of humor is broken.
Love that Billy Collins! I hadn't read this one before. Thanks for sharing it, Mary Lee!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteBilly Collins is master of the snort. What collection is this one in? I have a few of his.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I needed this.
ReplyDeleteYes, great humor. Billy should meet our Hawaiian poet Alo Ha.
ReplyDeleteAnd let's not forget their Louisiana cousin, yah-HEEE!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Billy and Mary Lee!
Some week we should all celebrate with our favorite Billy Collins poem. And yes, a snort alert would be much appreciated. HA! Love your sense of word fun and love for BC. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteOh, this one is new to me! Thanks, Mary Lee. I need Billy Collins (and poetry in general) more and more these days. I love Linda's suggestion, too, that we do an All-Billy Poetry Friday someday. :)
ReplyDeleteHa! Collins nails it again. Thanks for the laugh!
ReplyDeleteLove another Billy Collins poem! His humor is undeniable. Thank for sharing, Mary Lee!
ReplyDeleteDone!!! Billy Collins turns 75 on March 22, and I, being perhaps approaching half his poetic equal, have a birthday on March 11 (which is half of 22, while 53 is not at all half of 75). And I'm hosting next Friday!!! It will be Billy and Billy-inspired originals. I'll put the challenge out now. ML, do you have anything like a group email list for PoFri?
ReplyDeleteFull snort ahead!
Perfect!!
DeleteHe's so great. Here's to more Wa-Hoo and Ye-Hah.
ReplyDelete