PoemDedication To M…
Author / PoetBilly Collins
TagsJoy, Life, Sad, Sorrow

Swing of the heart. O firmly hung, fastened on what
invisible branch. Who, who gave you the push,
that you swung with me into the leaves?
How near I was to the exquisite fruits. But not-staying
is the essence of this motion. Only the nearness, only
toward the forever-too-high, all at once the possible
nearness. Vicinities, then
from an irresistibly swung-up-to place
—already, once again, lost—the new sight, the outlook.
And now: the commanded return
back and across and into equilibrium’s arms.
Below, in between, hesitation, the pull of earth, the passage
through the turning-point of the heavy—, past it: and the
catapult stretches,
weighted with the heart’s curiosity,
to the other side, opposite, upward.
Again how different, how new! How they envy each other
at the ends of the rope, these opposite halves of pleasure.

Or, shall I dare it: these quarters?—And include, since it
withholds itself,
that other half-circle, the one whose impetus pushes the
swing?
I’m not just imagining it, as the mirror of my here-and-now
arc. Guess nothing. It will be
newer someday. But from endpoint to endpoint
of the arc that I have most dared, I already fully possess it:
overflowings from me plunge over to it and fill it,
stretch it apart, almost. And my own parting,
when the force that pushes me someday
stops, makes it all the more near.

Billy Collins
Billy Collins
22 Mar 1941
Region: North America
Period: Contemporary
Awards: U.S. Poet Laureate

more poems by Billy Collins

Poem NameTopic
Another Reason Why I Don’t Keep A Gun In The HouseBarking, Frustration, Humor
Some DaysControl, Dollhouse, Imagination
The First NightDeath, Eternity, Language
Walking Across The AtlanticJourney, Ocean, Perspective
ThesaurusLanguage, Relationship, Synonyms
I Ask YouContemplation, Reflection, Simplicity
On Turning TenLoss, Nostalgia, Reflection
ForgetfulnessForgetfulness, Memory, Nostalgia
Morning
The Trouble with PoetryCreativity, Influence, Inspiration

all poems by Billy Collins

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