Forgetfulness (billy collins reads it without grinning).
Douglas Blair 1951 (London)
Forgetfulness
BY BILLY COLLINS
The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read, never even heard of,
as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.
Long ago you kissed the names of the nine muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,
something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.
Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue
or even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.
It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall
well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.
No wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.
See link to a video.
https://youtu.be/L-zWoKqlH_E
See another poem link.
https://www.poetry.com/poem/149989/9--11-poet-timely%3F
About this poem
Sharing a poem that chuckles. By Billy Collins. Written by Billy, not by Doug. Surprised that this forum does not include more from such an excellent writer. Another poem, The Lanyard is a masterpiece of sattire.
Written on September 07, 2012
Submitted by dougb.72572 on February 04, 2023
Modified by dougb.72572 on February 05, 2023
- 1:25 min read
- 23 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AA BXCX DXA XXA AX DXX DX AC XXXX B X |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,390 |
Words | 285 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 4, 3, 3, 2, 3, 2, 2, 4, 1, 1 |
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"Forgetfulness (billy collins reads it without grinning)." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/149918/forgetfulness-(billy-collins-reads-it-without-grinning).>.
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