William Collins
William Collins
Eighteenth-century English poet whose lyrical works include Odes on Several Descriptive and Allegorical Subjects and Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands. Poet John Langhorne published Collins' collected poems in 1765.
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth25 December 1721
beating begin chair confession poem rope tie torture
But all they want to do Is tie the poem to a chair with rope And torture a confession out of it. They begin beating it with a hose To find out what it really means.
forehead hand moments open placed waking
Each one is a gift, no doubt, mysteriously placed in your waking hand or set upon your forehead moments before you open your eyes.
authors best meet possible written
Not to say that authors are all such sourpusses, but you meet the author in the best possible way, on the written page. I am at my best there, more patient, more thoughtful.
bed below dreams drifting lower miles pulls slip surface weight
In a while, one of us will go up to bedand the other one will follow.Then we will slip below the surface of the nightinto miles of water, drifting down and downto the dark, soundless bottomuntil the weight of dreams pulls us lower still.
along animal arm dressed green human loose moves page pen shaped sleeve strange
My pen moves along the page like the snout of a strange animal shaped like a human arm and dressed in the sleeve of a loose green sweater.
along dressed green human loose moves pen sleeve strange
My pen moves along the pagelike the snout of a strange animalshaped like a human armand dressed in the sleeve of a loose green sweater.
modest soothe thy
If aught of oaten stop, or pastoral song, / May hope, chaste Eve, to soothe thy modest ear.
continues emotions grief history human poetry record whatever whether
Poetry is the history of the human heart, and it continues to record the history of human emotion, whether it's celebration or grief or whatever it may be.
arms cotton cup dawn dresses fragile handful outside picture small standing thin
But tomorrow, dawn will come the way I picture her,barefoot and disheveled, standing outside my windowin one of the fragile cotton dresses of the poor.She will look in at me with her thin arms extended,offering a handful of birdsong and a small cup of light.
appeal limited national negative poetry sign tv
I'm not dismayed that poetry's appeal is limited in scope. That's why we have National Poetry Month. It's a sign of its neglect, which isn't necessarily a negative thing. It's not like we have National TV Month.
beating begin chair confession poem tie torture
But all they want to doIs tie the poem to a chair with ropeAnd torture a confession out of it.They begin beating it with a hoseTo find out what it really means.
friend music
O Music! sphere-descended maid, / Friend of Pleasure, Wisdom's aid!
distance eyes horn melancholy mellow notes pale wild
With eyes up-rais'd, as one inspir'd, Pale Melancholy sate retir'd, And from her wild sequester'd seat, In notes by distance made more sweet, Pour'd thro' the mellow horn her pensive soul.
rest sink sleep wishes
How sleep the brave, who sink to rest, / By all their country's wishes blest!