Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the U.S., is one of our most beloved poets. In honor of his birthday later this month, many Poetry Friday regulars are sharing their favorite Billy Collins poem.
I’ve been lucky enough to hear Mr. Collins read his poetry twice. Like his poetry, he is humble and filled with good humor. At both readings, he shared “The Lanyard.” The first time I heard him read this poem, I actually had my car keys on a lanyard my son had made at camp. Michael’s lanyard is long gone, but because of Billy Collins’s poem, I’ll never forget it.
“The Lanyard”
The other day I was ricocheting slowly
off the blue walls of this room,
moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
when I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.
No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one into the past more suddenly–
a past where I sat a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid long thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.
I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.
Read the rest of the poem here.
Edited to add: Because Heidi shared the same poem, I’m adding another poem. Since “The Lanyard” stirs up many memories, I thought “Forgetfulness” would be a fitting contrast. Enjoy!
“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 good-bye
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 Paraquay.
Read the rest of the poem here.
Please be sure to visit Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe for more Billy Collins and the Poetry Friday Roundup.
Thank you also to Stacey, Betsy, Beth, Kathleen, Deb, Melanie, Lisa and Lanny for creating this community and providing this space for teachers and others to share their stories every day in March and on Tuesdays throughout the year. Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts.
Reading to the Core 