Journal #3

“Forgetfulness” by Billy Collins
S: A person of middle age or older
O: Reminiscing about one’s life or how the mind works
A: Anyone who has had a childhood
P: Conveying the long term effects of aging and how things are learned and forgotten
S: Childhood Memories
Tone: Realizing, Observing, Reminiscent (thinking), Comedic

The author Billy Collins conveys in his poem “Forgetfulness” about the human mind and how as people get older, they forget things they learned. The author writes his poem in free verse and describes the many important things learned in school such as math equations and as adults, those things are forgotten. I really enjoyed this poem because what the author is saying is very true. I am reminiscing all the time about things I learned when I was a child and some things I barely remember. I always have a vague memory of things and I have to sit down and think about things so I can remember them. What makes this poem even more interesting is that many people can relate to this. Anyone who has had a childhood knows what it feels like to forget and remember things. I think mostly because those things seemed so important at the time, but as people’s lives change, so do the important factors in one’s life.
“Wanting To Forget”
The name of that boy would be the first to go
Followed by his phone number, his smile,
The heartbreak he put you through, the entire relationship
Which suddenly becomes just like the last one,
Never again to be spoken of,
As if the next time you will remember exactly what to do
But you still decide to put it away like an unwanted Valentine
From that boy from your second grade class that always picked his nose
It can never be forgotten because long ago you kissed him
You remember how good it felt that he wanted you
And even now you wish he still did

Something else slips away, perhaps those good feelings,
Because you remember how dirty he did you

Whatever it is you are struggling to forget
Just comes and bites you because you can’t forget
It lurks around like Cupid, sneaky and ready to strike

It has floated in the Red Sea of your mind,
That sea now turned black
You want to forget but you just can’t
You would prefer to remember the itchiness of chicken pox.

No wonder you still call him and hope he does not answer
To tell him that you want your stuff back.
No wonder when you go pick up your stuff is when you forget.
Its then you forget the bad, and remember the good.

Too bad for those of you who forget.