Poems About Billy Collins by Top Critiquers

( After Billy Collins )

Observing an ocean of rain—      
so many fishtails, hydroplaning            
amid a merriment of muddy streets

reflections quaver under light—
deadwood trash washed out
to the air by waning wind

—commuters, rippling
toward landing places

I press on despite the storm;
its downpour uterin warm
—the alchemy of each breath
a gift terraforming myself—

in the recourse of clouds I realize
every departure is an undergone act—
every step-toward an eternal record ...

A gathering silence
Thoughts on lips
Silence
Before uttering words
Of no importance

The silence in churches
Before prayers
Silence in the dew drops
That hydrate flower petals
Silence of the birds at night

The breathless silence
Of an athlete before competition
The guilty silence of a sinner
Tranquil silence
Of the falling man

I find silence everywhere
If you would only stop, listen
Random silences of the day
Deeper feeling of silence
In the darkness
...

I do not admit that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia . . . by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race . . . has come in and taken their place.” (Winston Churchill, 1937, speaking before the Palestine Royal Commission).
 
 
For those who still feel, the world is a tragedy
and it stings in places one wonders
were better left unvisited
 
but time offers crossed slots of opportunity
where historical pain needs recalibration
when iconic figures are revealed as merely human; ...