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
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.
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.
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.
modest soothe thy
If aught of oaten stop, or pastoral song, / May hope, chaste Eve, to soothe thy modest ear.
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.
fairy forms hands scholars-and-scholarship unseen
By fairy hands their knell is rung; / By forms unseen their dirge is sung.
call comedies english-poet essential humor humorous prior shakespeare
Prior to Wordsworth, humor was an essential part of poetry. I mean, they don't call them Shakespeare comedies for nothing.
barnacles democracy english-poet scare
Words like feminism or democracy scare me. They are words with barnacles on them, and you can't see what's underneath.
along car last road sent window
There are many that I miss, having sent my last one out a car window sparking along the road one night, years ago.
along car last road sent
There are many that I miss,having sent my last one out a car windowsparking along the road one night, years ago.