Forgetfulness

     Even though the poem wasn't assigned specifically for class, I really liked "Forgetfulness" by Billy Collins.  After reading and enjoying "The Night House," I wanted to read more by this author, and "Forgetfulness" did not disappoint.  The imagery that is conveyed with the word choice makes the poem relatable and beautiful.  Here are a few examples of my favorite lines: "the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel / which suddenly becomes one you have never read, never even heard of," (lines 3-4) "Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye," (line 8) "whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall," (line 17) and finally the last stanza, "No wonder you rise in the middle of the night / to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war. / No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted out of a love poem that you used to know by heart" (lines 20-24).
     Collins describes forgetting in a way that I personally can relate to.  I think of books I've read with "heartbreaking conclusions" that left me with tears, yet I can't quite remember the main characters anymore. I think of the important historical figures I learned about in school that seemed so necessary to store away for tests, yet now can't even remember what their name begins with.  The way Collins ends the poem is very romantic, with the image of the moonlight coming through window.  It suggests that remembering is a special gift that comes to us at the most unexpected of times.  We want to hold onto memories and store them away.  I also suspect that "Forgetfulness" is not so much about the little memories, like the 9 Muses or the name of a book, but about bigger memories.  I would venture to say that this poem is a love poem, and the speaker is reflecting on a relationship or a person that he has forgotten about--or maybe he is the one that has been forgotten about himself.  And I wonder if he wants his audience to remember this "love poem" by heart, so that maybe the moon through the window is a reminder of him.