The poem discusses different ways of interacting with and understanding poetry. It suggests holding a poem up to the light like a slide, dropping a mouse into a poem to watch it probe its way out, or waterskiing across the surface of a poem waving at the author's name. However, students just want to tie the poem to a chair and torture it with a hose to force it to confess its meaning. The poem means exploring it through senses rather than brutally interrogating it for its meaning.

1. Introduction to Poetry Billy Collins

2. I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide or press an ear against its hive. I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out, or walk inside the poem’s room and feel the walls for a light switch. I want them to waterski across the surface of a poem waving at the author’s name on the shore. But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it. They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means.

3. Poetry means nothing if unread

4. color slide

5. to press

6. hive

7. to drop

8. to probe

9. light switch

10. waterski

11. surface

12. to wave

13. author

14. shore

15. to tie

16. rope

17. torture

18. confession

19. beating

20. hose

21. Poetry means nothing if unread

39. Poetry means nothing if unread

40. color slide

41. to press

42. hive

43. to drop

44. to probe

45. light switch

46. waterski

47. surface

48. to wave

49. author

50. shore

51. to tie

52. rope

53. torture

54. confession

55. beating

56. hose

57. I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide or press an ear against its hive. I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out, or walk inside the poem’s room and feel the walls for a light switch .

58. I want them to waterski across the surface of a poem waving at the author ’s name on the shore. But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it. They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means.

59. senses I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light sight like a color slide or press an ear against its hive. sound I say drop a mouse into a poem feel and watch him probe his way out, or walk inside the poem’s room and feel the walls for a light switch. feel

60. HOTS Higher Order Thinking Skills Explaining patterns : Identify and explain different patterns in the text and explain their significance. • Explain why certain lines/ phrases/words are repeated. • What behavior does the character/speaker repeat?

61. I ask them to take a poem request and hold it up to the light like a color slide or press an ear against its hive. I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out, or walk inside the poem’s room and feel the walls for a light switch. I want them to waterski command across the surface of a poem waving at the author’s name on the shore.

62. But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it. They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means.

63. Theme an investigation an intent playfulness of poetry