Poetry

I love poetry. One of my favorite poets is Billy Collins. I saw him read several times and even have his autograph (swoon!). The first time I saw him read was at the Geraldine Dodge Poetry Festival in 2008. This biennial festival is like the Superbowl of poetry. I was supposed to attend this year's festival and booked a hotel room and purchased a weekend pass, but alas, I hadn't accounted for Saturday class at the time. So next week while I sit in class with my design peeps, my partner will be strolling around Newark listening to poets string words together like pearls.

In the spirit of poetry and design, here is a poem by Billy Collins:

Design

BY BILLY COLLINS

I pour a coating of salt on the table

and make a circle in it with my finger.

This is the cycle of life

I say to no one.

This is the wheel of fortune,

the Arctic Circle.

This is the ring of Kerry

and the white rose of Tralee

I say to the ghosts of my family,

the dead fathers,

the aunt who drowned,

my unborn brothers and sisters,

my unborn children.

This is the sun with its glittering spokes

and the bitter moon.

This is the absolute circle of geometry

I say to the crack in the wall,

to the birds who cross the window.

This is the wheel I just invented

to roll through the rest of my life

I say

touching my finger to my tongue.