To My Favorite 17-Year-Old High School Girl
I don’t know what made me think of this poem today. Perhaps it’s that we’re moving into the days of high school graduations, when 17 and 18 year-olds venture out into the world ready to seek out a job, serve their country, or venture into the territory of higher education, or maybe they’re not ready but will soon need to anyway. In any event, I love the whimsical humor, the teasing, and the deep affection Billy Collins shares in this poem, and I hope it brings a smile to your face this weekend as well.
To My Favorite 17-Year-Old High School Girl
Do you realize that if you had started
building the Parthenon on the day you were born,
you would be all done in only one more year?
Of course, you couldn’t have done it alone,
so never mind, you’re fine just as you are.
You’re loved for just being yourself.
But did you know that at your age Judy Garland
was pulling down $150,000 a picture,
Joan of Arc was leading the French army to victory,
and Blaise Pascal had cleaned up his room?
No wait, I mean he had invented the calculator.
Of course, there will be time for all that later in your life,
after you come out of your room
and begin to blossom, or at least pick up all your socks.
For some reason, I keep remembering that Lady Jane Grey
was Queen of England when she was only fifteen,
but then she was beheaded, so never mind her as a role model.
A few centuries later, when he was your age,
Franz Schubert was doing the dishes for his family
but that did not keep him from composing two symphonies,
four operas, and two complete Masses as a youngster.
But of course that was in Austria at the height
of romantic lyricism, not here in the suburbs of Cleveland.
Frankly, who cares if Annie Oakley was a crack shot at 15
or if Maria Callas debuted as Tosca at 17?
We think you are special just being you,
playing with your food and staring into space.
By the way, I lied about Schubert doing the dishes,
but that doesn’t mean he never helped out around the house.
—Billy Collins
From Aimless Love, Random House, 2013.
Below is a video from a TED Conference of Billy Collins reading the poem aloud. Enjoy!
(Note: If you are receiving this post by email, you may need to click here to watch it.)
I love this poem. I heard it on the Colbert show before Christmas. I meant to buy AIMLESS LOVE for myself for Christmas, but I forgot. Now it is 2014 and I am going to purchase your book of poems tomorrow. It must be wonderful to write so well.
Barbara Johnson
Small correction: “they’re” not ready (not their).
Correct grammar good on a blog about writing!
Got it – thanks! All comes from writing too quickly! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! Sometimes we need a reminder to stop being frustrated and look at the bright side 🙂
I heard Billy read this tonight and it brought forth and a lot of laughs at the Duke Literary Forum. And did you know he interviewed Paul McCartney?
This poet is a rock star!
This poet is a rock star – you’re so lucky to have heard him read!