Poets | Members | Poem of the Day | Top 40 | Search | Comments | Privacy
July 25th, 2008 - we have 237 poets, 8036 poems and 17725 comments.
Billy Collins - The Only Day In Existence

The early sun is so pale and shadowy,
I could be looking up at a ghost
in the shape of a window,
a tall, rectangular spirit
looking down at me in bed,
about to demand that I avenge
the murder of my father.
But the morning light is only the first line
in the play of this day--
the only day in existence--
the opening chord of its long song,
or think of what is permeating
the thin bedroom curtains

as the beginning of a lecture
I will listen to until it is dark,
a curious student in a V-neck sweater,
angled into the wooden chair of his life,
ready with notebook and a chewed-up pencil,
quiet as a goldfish in winter,
serious as a compass at sea,
eager to absorb whatever lesson
this damp, overcast Tuesday
has to teach me,
here in the spacious classroom of the world
with its long walls of glass,
its heavy, low-hung ceiling.

Added: Feb 20 2003 | Viewed: 2693 times | Comments and analysis of The Only Day In Existence by Billy Collins Comments (0)


The Only Day In Existence - Comments and Information

Poet: Billy Collins
Poem: The Only Day In Existence
There are no comments for this poem. Why not be the first one to post something about it?

Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, The Only Day In Existence, has not yet been commented on. You can click here to be the first to post a comment about it. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Billy Collins with others on the American Poems poetry forum!

Poem Info

Collins Info
Copyright © 2000-2008 Gunnar Bengtsson. All Rights Reserved. Links | Bookstore