Billy Collins’s “Man Listening to Disc”
- Last updated
-
-
Save as PDF
Read "Man Listening to Disc" by Billy Collins. Similar to the previous lesson, see if you can take note of the cumulative impact of the author's word choice (both connotative and denotative) to establish the tone and convey the meaing of the piece.
"Man Listening to Disc" by Billy Collins
This is not bad -- ambling along 44th Street with Sonny Rollins for company, his music flowing through the soft calipers of these earphones,
as if he were right beside me on this clear day in March, the pavement sparkling with sunlight, pigeons fluttering off the curb, nodding over a profusion of bread crumbs.
In fact, I would say my delight at being suffused with phrases from his saxophone -- some like honey, some like vinegar -- is surpassed only by my gratitude
to Tommy Potter for taking the time to join us on this breezy afternoon with his most unwieldy bass and to the esteemed Arthur Taylor who is somehow managing to navigate
this crowd with his cumbersome drums. And I bow deeply to Thelonious Monk for figuring out a way to motorize -- or whatever -- his huge piano so he could be with us today.
This music is loud yet so confidential. I cannot help feeling even more like the center of the universe than usual as I walk along to a rapid little version of "The Way You Look Tonight,"
and all I can say to my fellow pedestrians, to the woman in the white sweater, the man in the tan raincoat and the heavy glasses, who mistake themselves for the center of the universe -- all I can say is watch your step,
because the five of us, instruments and all, are about to angle over to the south side of the street and then, in our own tightly knit way, turn the corner at Sixth Avenue.
And if any of you are curious about where this aggregation, this whole battery-powered crew, is headed, let us just say that the real center of the universe,
the only true point of view, is full of hope that he, the hub of the cosmos with his hair blown sideways, will eventually make it all the way downtown.
|
|
Image Courtesy:
StudySync.com
Works Cited:
Collins, Billy. "Man Listening To Disc." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.