Ballistics by Billy Collins

Ballistics by Billy Collins, a former U. S. Poet Laureate, is full of the poetry of everyday life. For example, Old Man Eating Alone in a Chinese Restaurant is about aging and, perhaps, loneliness. Brightly Colored Boats Upturned on the Banks of the Charles about a tableau of boats that Collins must once have seen. Other poems are about the stray thoughts that Collins has; little fantasies like Hippos on Holiday or The Golden Years. Some are deeper, more ominous, like Looking Forward, a poem about death. Ballistics is full of poetry that is simple, full of the unadorned beauty of everyday life.

3.75/5