I am a latecomer to the poetry of Billy Collins, but after reading one of his poems for the first time this April, I wondered how I could possibly have missed him! He is a former Poet Laureate of the United States and Poet Laureate of New York State. His poetry is presented as simple observations that are insightful and powerful, often tinged with wit and humour, with multiple layers of meaning. I get the impression that for Collins everything in life, regardless of how mundane, has a poem embedded in it, and is worth being curious about. Such as the poem I read this morning…

Osprey

By Billy Collins

Oh, large, brown, thickly feathered creature
with a distinctive white head,
you, perched on the top branch
of a tree near the lake shore,

as soon as I guide this boat back to the dock
and walk up the grassy path to the house,
before I unzip my windbreaker
and lift the binoculars from around my neck,

before I wash the gasoline from my hands,
before I tell anyone I’m back,
and before I hang the ignition key on its nail,
or pour myself a drink—

I’m thinking a vodka soda with lemon—
I will look you up in my
illustrated guide to North American birds
and I promise I will learn what you are called.

From Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems, Copyright @2013 by Billy Collins, 2014 Random House Trade Paperback Edition.  ISBN 978-0-8129-8267-I

For reflection:

What birds or other animals have I observed in nature that inspire me to learn more about them? 

What have I learned from them? 

How has this helped me?

Robert Thiessen, April, 2025

Photo by Steve Smith on Unsplash

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