billy collins · friday poetry · poetry · September 11th · september 11th tribute

Poetry Friday: A Little Billy Collins For You

Stacey Shubitz

This week BiblioFile is hosting Poetry Friday.
This week BiblioFile is hosting Poetry Friday.
Bonnie mentioned a Billy Collins Poem, “The Names,” in a comment she left yesterday. While he’s one of my favorite poets (new favorites), I have to admit that I didn’t know about this one. In case you fall into the same category, then here is part of it:

The Names
Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
Then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
As droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
Among thousands of flowers
Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
And each had a name —
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
And stitched into the cloth of the day.

Click here to read the rest of the poem.

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Published by Stacey Shubitz

Stacey Shubitz is a K-6 literacy consultant and former elementary teacher. She is the author of CRAFT MOVES and other professional books on writing workshop. Her forthcoming book, MAKE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WORK FOR YOUR CHILD WITH DISABILITIES (Guilford Press, 2026), empowers parents to navigate the special education system.

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