The favourite poem meme.

[nny]

Questions About Angels
by Billy Collins

Of all the questions you might want to ask
about angels, the only one you ever hear
is how many can dance on the head of a pin.

No curiosity about how they pass the eternal time
besides circling the Throne chanting in Latin
or delivering a crust of bread to a hermit on earth
or guiding a boy and girl across a rickety wooden bridge.

Do they fly through God's body and come out singing?
Do they swing like children from the hinges
of the spirit world saying their names backwards and forwards?
Do they sit alone in little gardens changing colors?

What about their sleeping habits, the fabric of their robes,
their diet of unfiltered divine light?
What goes on inside their luminous heads? Is there a wall
these tall presences can look over and see hell?

If an angel fell off a cloud, would he leave a hole
in a river and would the hole float along endlessly
filled with the silent letters of every angelic word?

If an angel delivered the mail, would he arrive
in a blinding rush of wings or would he just assume
the appearance of the regular mailman and
whistle up the driveway reading the postcards?

No, the medieval theologians control the court.
The only question you ever hear is about
the little dance floor on the head of a pin
where halos are meant to converge and drift invisibly.

It is designed to make us think in millions,
billions, to make us run out of numbers and collapse
into infinity, but perhaps the answer is simply one:
one female angel dancing alone in her stocking feet,
a small jazz combo working in the background.

She sways like a branch in the wind, her beautiful
eyes closed, and the tall thin bassist leans over
to glance at his watch because she has been dancing
forever, and now it is very late, even for musicians.

Comments

[nextian.livejournal.com]

... You know, I was about to link this on my journal, thinking it was from breathe_poetry, and the illustration I was going to link with it was pentapus's angel for you. I'm happy it's your favorite poem, instead, because for obvious reasons that seems very right.

[villainny.livejournal.com]

I don't know if it's the fault of milliways, but a lot of my favourite poems are about angels; see also the Duino Elegies by Rilke, for complete GUH. :D Also whenever I have money I commission angels from people, I have one from waywardradish and one from ileliberte too, and I'm supposed to be getting one for the livelongnmarry thing but my artist doesn't seem to be talking to me at present.

Shall have to poke her again.

[batyatoon]

Oh that is BEAUTIFUL. *swoons*

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It's a night for poetry.

[wintercreek]

Oh, this is one of my favorite poems too. It's definitely my favorite Billy Collins - it so perfectly combines his humor and his beautiful imagery.

This may sound silly, but I feel a little closer to you because we share this poem. *snugs*

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's perfect - had never heard it before, nor of Billy Collins. I'm going ot repost *that* pome in my journal before finding my own *nods*

*snugglehugs* thank you for a reason to smile through my snuffles today! :)

[toft-froggy.livejournal.com]

Oh, oh, what a lovely poem! Thank you!