Yes, agreed very much Ben! I'm not much of a morning person either and will often be seen doing the zombie walk around my house until about 10 AM or I am forced to do something. I also disagree very much with his idea that, "This is the best-throwing off the light covers," (6-7) because in my opinion that is the worst. I will often hit the snooze button one too many times just so I can lie in the comfort of my warm covers for another five minutes (as I'm sure many of us have). He does make one great point though, and that is in his last stanza, where he talks about the beauty that is only seen in the morning. Most Saturdays I will wake up at 7:45 against my own will to enjoy the thrill of running in the morning, when it is so quiet and peaceful and the world itself seems to be waking up.

My favorite poem was "Ghosts" on page 28 of American Primitive by Mary Oliver. Upon further reading I found the subject of many poems by Mary Oliver in this book were centered on nature. The poem "Ghosts" stuck out to me amongst the others for a couple reasons. First, is the repetitiveness of the question "Have you noticed?" Also, the description she uses in this particular poem really helps paint a picture in my mind. I found the passage in number four especially interesting as it makes it clear this poem is referencing Native Americans. "In the book of the earth it is written: nothing can die. In the book of the Sioux it is written: they have gone away into the earth to hide. Nothing will coax them out again but the people dancing." Lastly, passage number five (p.29) reminds me of something I learned in history class. People would pay a nickel and they could shoot buffalo from the back of the trains....or something like that. Regardless, I like poems I feel are slightly easier to comprehend which makes this one my favorite.

Caleb Fritz Craig:

Nicole - I totally enjoyed that poem as well. One of the things that was nice about that piece was that it was a nice break from the bleak and confusing. Perhaps this wasn't a wise choice to make but I alternated between the books to keep things interesting. What I enjoyed about that was there was a very fascinating contrast between the two authors. However, it was nice to be reminded by this poem that poetry can be humorous and free of specificity as well. Another thing I found delightful about this piece was the amount of relevance I felt it had to our CIS class. Never have I met a group of people able to question everything about a plot. I could see us completely retelling that piece purely through conversing about the who, what, where, when, why, and how. Oh the joys of CIS.

P.S. Yes Nicole, we are familiar with the randomness that is you. That's why we love you!

Speaking of our CIS class. Are we all on our computers right now?

Yes Nicole I think we all know how you can get off on random tangents (haha). On a more serious note I agree with you, even the slightest mention of a subject can send me off on a tangent that will consume my mind for minutes, even hours at a time. I also like how his thinking works as sort of a distraction from what he's doing. I run the 800 in Track which is basically a two minute event in which I must think of anything possible to distract myself from the searing pain that is coursing through my legs. Sometimes its song lyrics, sometimes its why an event happened the way it did earlier that day, one time I was even focused on how to say "apple" properly in Spanish...weird right? Anyway I just took a tangent off your tangent, so to get back at the matter at hand, I guess I've never really thought about how three blind mice came together, he gave me all my options now I just have to make my choice I guess.

Yolanda:

I too like how you interpreted this poem; especially your idea about of the difficulty of writer's words reflecting their lives. In a more generalized statement, I think this can be true of actions and beliefs too; when I read that I thought about how easy it is to be hypocritical. I know sometimes I find myself not reflecting my most firm beliefs. I also thought that his poem brought to light how decisions can haunt people; the 'what if' version of oneself lingers in the mind. Collins writes about his ghost, "but there is no catching him, no way to slow him down and put us back in sync unless one day he decides to go back to the house for something" (ll. 21-25) As if the only way to prevent ghosts is to truly live one's writings or beliefs.

Caleb Fritz Craig:

Caleb Fritz Craig

Dylan - I am not really sure about the relevance to Native American cultures. I never heard of that historical fact but you could very well be correct. I have no idea. However, I was also drawn to this piece but my reasoning is more broad. I loved the contrast between life and death. She does a masterful job of underlining how simple and yet complicated it is to be both birthed and perish. The last line in the poem, "I asked them, in my dream I knelt down and asked them to make room for me," I couldn't decide if this was a plea for rebirth as if asking to start over or if it was a plea simply to be a part of the cycle of life and death. Perhaps it wasn't a plea at all.

Yolanda

Yes, it kind of made me laugh when Collins described, in his opinion, the best parts of the morning as what I would consider the absolute worst. But I must say, like Ben, the poem did make me react and shiver; I could practically feel the cold floors on my barefeet. His imagery made the poem very easy to relate to (well, the getting up part). I also agree with all of you when you said that the poem is very optimistic; reading it, I felt like each morning was an opportunity to start over- in a symbolic way.

I defiently agree with you caleb. When i first read that poem I had the feeling that it was talking about discrimination of some sort, I just didn't know what it was pointing at (if that makes sense). your explantion fits i think. Some people see homosexuality as being "evil" or as something they need to fight and rid the world of, Mary oliver says in the poem "you are their dream, their waking, their quarry, their demon." which i think says exactly this.
Nice research Caleb :)

I liked that poem too! I really appreciated how he wrote the poem about his questioning thoughts, my favorite part of the poem is when he talks about the story effected him, "has the cynic who always lounges within me up off his couch and at the window trying to hide the rising softness he feels." (21-24). I could really feel the quote and it made me think.

Colie I loved this one as well. I totally followed the randomness and I really liked how he analyzed this nursery rhyme...song? But it wasn't a super formal, analyzing way. It was a lot how we think and I think that's why it was so easy to follow. I know I think of things like these either when I'm just zoned out in class (not this class of course! (:) or trying to focus on other things. When I'm driving home from work late at night I do a lot of my heavy thinking. The radio is playing but instead of my usual jamming, I think about a lot of stuff and soon enough i'm home!

I like this poem too. It reminded me of summer mornings, waking up to the smell of bacon, eggs, and pancakes :) I love how if you wake up at exactly the right time you can see the sun coming up and the mist covering the lawn and you just know its going to be a beautiful day. I also like waking up to the soft sounds of rain and then staying in my pajama's all day long watching TV. I do enjoy the morning as he says "This is the best" ... when it involves me not going to school or running late for something.

Alexia Terwilliger:

Alright, 11:30 at night and i'm hopping in here! The poem I connected with the most was "Morning" by Billy Collins. It pointed out that the little things in life tend to be the most neglected, when in fact they could be the most appreciated. Usually, no one makes big plans early in the morning (from my experience), they save them for nighttime and the morning becomes neglected or a way to pass time. I could identify with the quirkiness of the poem when Collins talks about the "dictionary and atlas opened on the rug, the typewriter waiting for the key of the head, a cello on the radio". Whenever I have a free weekend morning (summer), I enjoy doing different things like experimenting with our record player in my living room or sprawling the library books I have most recently checked out on my living room floor and choosing the most interesting one to read. I think this poem portrayed the morning positively and that's why I enjoyed it so much. Collin's descriptions were also very vivid and I had no problem picturing the type of morning he wrote about.

Rachel Gendreau:

I loved Duck/Rabbit by Billy Collins. I really enjoyed how he uses a duck and a rabbit to reference a relationship between two people. We are all familiar with the lion and the lamb relationship but I think it is interesting that he contrasts that with a very unfamiliar relationship between a duck and a rabbit. I think the last lines of the poem sum it up, "Say, these could be our mascots, you and I- I could look at you forever And never see the two of us together." It shows a respectful dislike for each other, which I know I can relate to. I think it is actually a lot healthier and obviously kinder than just a blatant hatred for one another. They dodge each other and stay out of the way, avoiding confrontation.

Yolanda Burckhardt

One of my favorite poems was Looking West (Collins 48). I thought about how everything and everyone has a certain connection, (not just the ground we all stand on but certainly part of it). The poem made me think beyond myself, about how every action or decision I make has an effect on the people around me... a chain reaction; as if he were emphasizing the 'every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction' law. The poem is also uplifting and adventurous--I want to explore the oceans, Asia, and Europe. On a completely different note- I think Collins may have been trying to get across that physically exploring the world isn't the only way, exploring can also be through imagining and wondering- through ideas. Collins writes, "where I am standing, hands in my pockets, feet planted firmly on the ground," (Collins 13-14), as if he is exploring the world without taking a single step.

Alexia Terwilliger:

Anne: I love how you identify with "I Go Back to the House for a Book." The theory that our lives are built up of all the small choices we make every day is what was going through my mind as I read this poem.
Adding to what Alex said about "Morning", I think that "finding wonderful things in our lives that we never thought to experience" applies to this poem as well. A small choice you make could lead to a big experience that will impact your life in a way you never thought possible.
This poem reminded me of "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost that Stephanie read today in discussion. The part when Collins is describing the "other me" who did not bother going back to the house for a book describes another road he could have taken. Again, our lives are defined by the choices we make and the paths we choose to take.
I also agree with everyone who said they thought of Econ and opportunity costs while reading this poem.

Rachel responding to Allie:

Allie I completely agree with what you have to say about Serpentine. My faith is lined with yours on this and I agree that God has a plan and I'm just along for the ride. I was on a retreat when I saw this video (which I absolutely love) and I think it totally goes with what your reaction is. I hope you like! (: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EjTIxEBYac

Nicole Wieczorek

Allie:
I agree, i think this poem does talk about how we are are slowly reaching a destination. I know that sounds obvious and maybe lame but what i mean is that none of us know where will will end up. We all have a different destiny and it is almost impossible to know what it will be. I think that this poem also talks about how life isn't always straight forward, there are twists and cuvres (like the shape of a snake... serpentine.. get it? haha). and that "the moving questionmark" could maybe mean how we will never be able to know what is going to happen because life is one big question and it keeps going on no matter how much we want to "brake or swerve within".

This was indeed a great poem! I always think it's funny when the elements of a story are picked apart with logical criticism, especially children's rhymes. In the same vein, I always wondered how "Hey Diddle Diddle" is possible. How on earth a cow could acquire the leg power to jump over the moon? They can't even walk up a flight of stairs. Even if they could jump that high, wouldn't the lack of gravity in space keep the cow moving in the same direction and keep it from falling back to earth? This kind of stuff amuses me!

Andrea I also really liked this one and I agree that it was really cool how he used so many different examples. Because of them I could picture so many different things and I always had images dancing through my head. I also can see both how Ben hopes we are in the beginning and you see us in the middle. An allusion that we are in the beginning is when he says, "This is the first part / where the wheels begin to turn," I feel like thats sort of where we are now with the wheel in our head beginning to turn about considering our future plans. I also see how you say the middle because to me life is very confusing and complicated right now and he writes, "This is the middle. / Things have had time to get complicated," My two favorite lines of this poem are "This is the beginning. / Almost anything can happen." and later on under the section of the middle when it says, "Nothing is simple anymore." because I feel like I can relate to both.

I agree with everything you guys have said and I think it's really true that you never know who your comments are going to reach. I related to this piece when dealing with friends. I sometimes am afraid to speak up about something for fear of disrupting the norm, even when they do everything in their power to give me the opportunity to tell them I tell myself it's not a big deal and to just ignore it or I convince myself it's not important so I shouldn't bug them with it. They turn off the distractions (like in the poem the whirling fan) and they settle in (like the motionless train or ships in the harbor) all waiting for me to share with them the things I hide inside (like the songs of loneliness and the songs of hurt)

That's a really lovely thought, Yolanda. The "colorful mosaic of experiences and lessons" is very nicely expressed.

Nice Harry Potter reference, Joe.

Interesting thought, Kayla. Billy Collins (like Mary Oliver) is a master of the extended metaphor.

Ahem. I'm not sure how to respond to that comment, Alex, although I admit it made me laugh out loud.

Agreed, Ben. I barely like to think that I'm in the middle of my life...

Have any of you seen the movie "Sliding Doors"(1998)? That's what this discussion and the poem remind me of--it's similar to the commercial Connie mentioned. It follows the life of a woman who did or did not make it onto a certain subway train; her life is completely altered by this small change. While not ground-breaking cinema, it's a pretty good movie.

Good allusion to Frost, Brian. That's a nice connection.

Emily, a "like" button would be a fabulous improvement to a wiki page. What a great idea.

Alexia Terwilliger:

Brian: I agree with you that this poem captures the majesty of being alone with the moon, however I found it funny that Collins used almost no sensory details when talking about the moon. He talked about it being bright, full, and he mentions the wind ruffling the pear trees. You would think if this were merely a poem describing how Collins sees the moon, he would put more emphasis on the moon. I may be totally wrong here, but I think this poem goes way beyond the moon. I think the baby represents being alive and the poem is all about finding the one thing that can make you feel alive.

I also found it interesting that Collins referenced two other poets in his work. I don't know if there's any significance to that, but I researched a little bit and I found out Coleridge was an early nineteenth century English poet who was a founder of the Romantic movement. Arnold was another nineteenth century poet and seemed to be a controversial one at that. Collins also uses a quote from May Oliver on page nine and i'm not sure if there's any significance to that either, but it piqued my interest.

This poem also jumper out at me. I loved how he implies that the whole world has stopped and is waiting for you to speak. The idea of listening has been pushed aside in our society and I feel as if Billy is trying to hold on. Even the God's are attentive and listening. Billy Collins is trying to emphasize the importance of what people have to say, regardless of who they are and what they have to say.

I also like "I Go Back to the House for a Book". I actually really like Billy Collins whole book. I felt like I could connected to a majority of the poems, which was the exact opposite of Mary Oliver. Now to touch back on the specific poem. The only thing that I could think of during this poems was the idea of parallel universes. The theory is that there are infinite universes that are all completely different but yet the same. So the people are all the same, just they cover every possible option of every possible situation. But back to a more reasonable interpretation. This poem does have obvious implications of our futures. We all are making decisions that will shape the remainder of our lives. This poem emphasized the importance of every decision and the reality that there is no turning back. Even the simplest decisions can make a difference. :D