Reading Poetry

An antique desk lamp stands in the corner while the blinding light shines down on the poetry podium. The lights begin to dim as all attention goes to the person behind the podium who glows in a hazy caramel light.
Welcome to the first five minutes of my AP Literature and Composition class! The mood is right, the poems are good, and snaps are always appreciated. Each person is assigned a poem by Mr. Collins based on their attitude towards a certain subject or simply just a poem he reads that reminds him of said student.
“Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins was chosen by Mr. Collins for me to read aloud to the class. The poem, from a teacher’s point of view, explains how students need to let the poem flow through them and be more about the experience of writing a poem rather than picking it apart to analysis.
Probably the best part of the poem is the sixth stanza, which says “But all they want to do/ is tie the poem to a chair with rope/and torture a confession out of it.” This stanza is probably the reason that Mr. Collins choose this poem for me because I hate analyzing poetry. Like it says in this poem, I always feel like I am struggling to find the deep confessions in a poem.
When I start writing poetry, however, it’s like the words flow out of me and inspiration comes out of nowhere. That’s why on the AP Lit exam, instead of having students analyze poems, they should just have us write them!
– Taylor

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