CREEK ROAD GANG
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Breakfast with Billy Collins
A Poem Joan G. Andersoncopyright 2003
BREAKFAST WITH BILLY COLLINS
Milk not only drips from my spoon,
it dribbles down my chin
unnoticed.
What will he talk about this time?
The suggestive slice of peach...
the dog staring out the door...
the clock on the wall that just
won’t shut up about Time?
Or maybe he’ll tell me about his trip
to the laundromat yesterday,
about his socks,
ordinarily so lackluster,
whooping it up in the dryer.
The sun ricochets off the toaster.
“Look,” he exclaims, and heads outside.
I wipe my chin and follow, ever attentive.
The dog comes, too.
Out in the garden
I see a spade stuck in the soil,
flowers lolling about, nonchalant.
Under a nearby tree Newton sits,
dazed, an apple in each hand.
Billy’s wife points significantly
out past the fence, past the far hills,
where Chinese temples waver
and Leda rides the wings of a cloud
across a pink sky.
His wife folds her arms,
the dog wags his tail,
I am all ears.
Milk not only drips from my spoon,
it dribbles down my chin
unnoticed.
What will he talk about this time?
The suggestive slice of peach...
the dog staring out the door...
the clock on the wall that just
won’t shut up about Time?
Or maybe he’ll tell me about his trip
to the laundromat yesterday,
about his socks,
ordinarily so lackluster,
whooping it up in the dryer.
The sun ricochets off the toaster.
“Look,” he exclaims, and heads outside.
I wipe my chin and follow, ever attentive.
The dog comes, too.
Out in the garden
I see a spade stuck in the soil,
flowers lolling about, nonchalant.
Under a nearby tree Newton sits,
dazed, an apple in each hand.
Billy’s wife points significantly
out past the fence, past the far hills,
where Chinese temples waver
and Leda rides the wings of a cloud
across a pink sky.
His wife folds her arms,
the dog wags his tail,
I am all ears.
Biographical Note for Joan G. Anderson (in brief):
Joan holds a B.A. and M.A. in French and German Literature
from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, and an Ed.D. in Adult and Student
Education from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. While pursuing her doctorate, she served as
residence hall director and taught classes in Social Diversity Education, as
well as classes in ballroom, aerobic, and line dancing. Prior to that, she raised two sons while
pursuing a career in graphic design, photography, and promotional writing. While living in Ohio, she created and
exhibited large-scale fabric artworks; nowadays, in Pennsylvania, she dabbles
in watercolor. She recently retired from
the workforce to focus on fine arts, dance, writing, and other delights. See Author Index Prose A-K for other writing by Joan.
