Introduced by Richard Haill, Lecturer in English for Academic Purposes, International Centre, Oxford Brookes University
Carpe Diem
Maybe it was the fast-moving clouds
or the spring flowers quivering among the dead leaves,
but I knew this was one day I was born to seize -
not just another card in the deck of a year,
but March 19th itself,
looking as clear and fresh as the ten of diamonds.
Living life to the fullest is the only way,
I thought as I sat by a tall window
and tapped my pencil on the dome of a glass paperweight.
To drain the cup of life to the dregs
was a piece of irresistible advice,
I averred as I checked someone's dates
in the Dictionary of National Biography
and later, as I scribbled a few words
on the back of a picture postcard.
Crashing through the iron gates of life
is what it is all about,
I decided as I lay down on the carpet,
locked my hands behind my head,
and considered how unique this day was
and how different I was from the men
of hari-kari for whom it is disgraceful
to end up lying on your back.
Better, they think, to be found facedown
in a blood-soaked shirt
than to be discovered with lifeless eyes
fixed on the elegant teak ceiling above you,
and now I can almost hear the silence
of the temple bells and the lighter silence
of the birds hiding in the darkness of a hedge.
Billy Collins With some friends I started a poetry-reading (not writing!) group in 2002, and we have been meeting 7 or 8 times a year since then. As a result of this I’ve built up quite a large poetry collection. We take it in turns to host the meetings and set the theme: each of us chooses 5 or 6 poems to read, and we are provided with copious glasses of wine to help us through. I first came across the work of Billy Collins about 10 years ago; this poem is from his 2008 collection, Ballistics.
I like it for several reasons. The contrast between the incitement-to-positive-action title (‘Enjoy the Day!’) and the relative inaction of the poet who is content to sit, tap his pencil, check some facts in a book, write a post-card, lie on the carpet, stare at the ceiling and listen to bells & birds.
The further contrast between the clichéd phrases in the poems which are commonly used to exhort us to follow the ‘carpe diem’ approach to life - ‘this was one day I was born to seize’. ‘living life to the fullest’, ‘drain the cup of life to the dregs’, ‘crash through the iron gates of life’ – and the quiet, contemplative way in which the poet chooses to enjoy his day;
The poet seems a nice guy! He wants to pass the day (and note the coming of spring) in his own way: he resists any urge to dash out and do important things, and is content to sit (and lie) at home and while away the time with his own thoughts. Who can't relate to that!
The poem is reproduced by permission of Random House USA, and comes from his collection Ballistics (New York: Random House, 2008). The Poetry Centre is grateful to Sherri Feldman.