"Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins

In "Introduction to Poetry", Collins explores the various ways a reader can experience reading a poem. Within the first 10 lines, Collins talks about ways to read a poem with feeling, " Hold it up to the light like a color slide", "Press an ear against its hive", "I want them to waterski across the surface." All of these lines reveal 1 of the 5 senses and how they can be used to engage yourself in a poem and truly feel it and draw a meaning based from that feeling. Collins ends his poem harshly as he criticizes some readers for the way they avoid the beauty of a poem and go straight for the meaning, "They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means." Collins advises readers to be like the reader in the beginning of the poem, one who draws meanings from the way the poem makes you feel or the various ways you can find yourself in a poem, rather than the ending example of someone who just skims and finds the meaning. I really enjoyed this poem as sometimes I even find myself just skimming the surface for the meaning and not truly enjoying the art form of poetry through its imagery.