Wednesday, September 12, 2007

"Forgetfulness" by Billy Collins


The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of,
as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.
Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,
something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,
not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.
It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall,
well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.
FB - 1556
USA - 1329

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

McDonald's is private property.

Freewayblogger said...

Then they should keep their signs to themselves.

Until you can figure out a way to stop me, everything I can see belongs to me.

Anonymous said...

I'm not surprised that you just happened to swing by a McDonald's! Hahahah! Let me guess - you got a couple Double Quarter Pounders with Cheese, some fries, another Double Quarter Pounder, and an extra large strawberry shake! Seriously - do you understand that everyone probably thought the same thing when they saw that McDonald's picture? You're a big fat pig! Hahahaha! (you seriously do need to lose weight though - it's not healthy).

Anonymous said...

btw: "they should keep their signs to themselves"? What does that mean? Seriously - care to explain?

Freewayblogger said...

I have no doubt you're more familiar with websites where the men are all hot n' hunky. This is a political activist site: you should probably do your masturbating elsewhere.

Freewayblogger said...

It means you can't stick your crap in front of everybody's face and call it "private". You might consider corporate logos and advertising next to the freeways as somehow sacrosanct, but I don't.

That sign stayed up next to the 880 southbound for a full day, and quite possibly several more after that. Nobody seemed to have either the time or inclination to take it down, not even McDonalds. Go figure...

Anonymous said...

btw: your comment above where you said

"I have no doubt you're more familiar with websites where the men are all hot n' hunky. This is a political activist site: you should probably do your masturbating elsewhere."

is pretty homophobic. You may actually offend some of your homosexuals readers which doesn't seem like a very kind thing to do.

Freewayblogger said...

Nonsense. The comment was neither mean-spirited not general. It was meant entirely in good faith and directed only towards you.

Again, sorry I can't help you with your hard-on, cowboy.

Anonymous said...

Oh, it was definitely a homophobic statement.

Freewayblogger said...

I'm straight, so I guess I'll have to defer to your authority... but seriously Senator, try another stall.