So, you know, I thought that I'd find this one poem that had
these themes of China in it.
But it turned out that there were many poems
by Billy Collins that had this same theme.
So in the end, I wrote about a dozen rewrites
of Billy Collins poems.
And I'll just read one or two more of those
and then read some other material from the collection.
OK.
This is ''Chinese Silence Number Four'', after Billy
Collins' ''China''.
I am a cicada floating in a coffee cup
on the desk of the poet laureate.
[LAUGHTER]
Grant proposals are being written.
Many bottles of Napa wine are emptied.
But even when his nodding head strikes
the desk like a bobbing Buddha's, I
lurk silently inside my mug.
Chipped by the teeth of Ezra Pound.
[LAUGHTER]