For Valentine’s Day, my husband gave me a CD of Billy Collins Live, a performance from 2005. He did this even though we don’t make a big deal over Valentine’s Day (our anniversary is the week before it) and we had agreed to do nothing more than cards. Oh well:>) I happily listened to it on my laptop yesterday for a bit when our power went out. I can’t wait to finish it, and I know I’ll be listening to it repeatedly.
One of the poems I love that he reads here is “Forgetfulness,” a poem that I can totally relate to (even I can’t remember it when it’s not being read aloud to me!).
Forgetfulness
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,
And if you’ve never heard Billy Collins read his work (or even if you have), listen to him read it here, accompanied by some literal but entertaining animation: