Analysis Of The Poem Desire By Billy Collins

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“Desire” was not only the title of the poem, but also what I initially felt towards the poem. I’ve never been like those people who automatically know the central idea the moment they read a poem, but I had that desire to identify a central message. Without even realizing it, I automatically began to read the poem scanning for a meaning, the central idea, something to grasp onto. Just like the bees, I found myself buzzing around searching for a meaning or as Billy Collins states in his poem, I was trying to “...torture a confession out of it” (Collins 14).
Looking back, I realize how similar I am to the bees in this poem, like the bees, I wasn’t sure how to get to my destination. So I wandered, not knowing much until I read “...wrong turn...” (Grennan 3). Reading these two words I automatically thought of different roads that can be taken to get somewhere, but I wasn’t sure what to think of this. I then continued to read through the poem until I stumbled upon the words “...stuck there” (Grennan 8). And coincidentally I
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Sometimes we may not realize what we want at that moment and once we do it may feel impossible but there is always a route that can be taken. If we fail the first time we just need to try again until we can achieve those desires.
In addition, the route we may have taken before or someone else has taken before may not be the same route we take the next time or the route that works for us. Every situation is different, but that just means it’s a different adventure each time. Will I be able to better understand a poem by just reading the title next time? Maybe, but not necessarily.
It’s important to explore and maybe next time the last line of the poem is what will help me better understand the poem. Each time is an adventure and an opportunity to explore different routes that can be taken whether that means they are correct or not. There is no right or wrong way; it’s all a learning

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