Home » Religious Education » Tapestry of Faith Curricula » Youth Programs » Exploring Our Values Through Poetry » Workshop 1 » Handouts » Handout 1: Introduction To Poetry
Handout 1: Introduction To Poetry
Billy Collins, from The Apple That Astonished Paris (Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 1996).
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
This work is made possible by the generosity of individual donors.
Please consider making a donation today.
Last updated on Thursday, October 27, 2011.
Sidebar Content, Page Navigation