A favorite.
And if I were making notes in the margin, I'd scribble, Yes!
And Me, too.
And Love him.
Marginalia
by Billy Collins
Sometimes the notes are ferocious,
skirmishes against the author
raging along the borders of every page
in tiny black script.
If I could just get my hands on you,
Kierkegaard, or Conor Cruise O'Brien,
they seem to say,
I would bolt the door and beat some logic into your head.
Other comments are more offhand, dismissive -
"Nonsense." "Please!" "HA!!" -
....
(Read the whole thing here.)
~~~~~
The Poetry Friday round up is at Reflections on the Teche today.
7 comments:
Sighing.
Smiling.
Thank you!
a.
He always makes me smile.
I love this poem!
A favorite professor gave me one of his books, and I love the professor's notes in the margin more than the words the author himself wrote!
Billy Collins captures it perfectly! Thanks for sharing...=)
Thanks, all, for your margin notes, and Ruth, I know just what you mean. :)
Sent that poem straight off to my annotating husband!
Was going to say thanks for the site -- I had high hopes for it, but it looks like they lost the energy to continue in 2005. Wah.
Hey, Mary Lee -- I know! I wish the site was kept up, too.
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