Introduction to Poetry- Poetry Response 16

I remember talking about this poem way back in the beginning of the school year, when we were first starting to get into poetry. I remember how we talked about the line, "But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it." As I reread the poem just now, that line continually stands out to me! In the movie Casino Royal (I think?), James Bond gets tied to a chair and the bad guys just beat him with this rope/club thingy. They are trying to get him to confess something. This visual carries over into the poem for me! I feel like teachers, in some cases, try to drill out a central meaning, or a 'secret' the author is reveling in the poem. Why can't the authors just be writing poems because they are funny, or because they retell a story in a shortened way? I really like how this poem challenges the way students view poetry! The author of this poem says he just wants students to look at the poem in a different light, or try to hear the buzzing of the poem, test the poem in different situations, or feel the poem out as if blinded. I think that in our discussions we do what Billy Collins wants students to. We don't over analyze poems, or give them false credit. I like how this poem tries to bring back the simplicity of poetry.