ou, Reader
by Billy Collins, poet and Poet Laureate of US 2001-2003
author of seven collections of poetry, including this volume -
The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems.
I wonder how you are going to feel
when you find out
that I wrote this instead of you,
that it was I who got up early
to sit in the kitchen
and mention with a pen
the rain-soaked windows,
the ivy wallpaper,
and the goldfish circling in its bowl.
Go ahead and turn aside,
bite your lip and tear out the page,
but, listen---it was just a matter of time
before one of us happened
to notice the unlit candles
and the clock humming on the wall.
Plus, nothing happened that morning---
a song on the radio,
a car whistling along the road outside---
and I was only thinking
about the shakers of salt and pepper
that were standing side by side on a place mat.
I wondered if they had become friends
after all these years
or if they were still strangers to one another
like you and I
who manage to be known and unknown
to each other at the same time---
me at this table with a bowl of pears,
you leaning in a doorway somewhere
near some blue hydrangeas, reading this.
Shady's note: Actually, I'm sitting at the computer and you may be enjoying your hydrangea... is it blue? Or is it like this below... my 'Pinky Winky' in its second year?
I know, I know.
I understand that the name is slightly silly... but the plant is not. :-)
Now visit Carolyn at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago. She began this muse. Aren't you glad?
Have a great day!
