Forgetfulness

“Forgetfulness” is a 23-line, eight-stanza free verse poem by former Poet Laureate of the United States, Billy Collins. Originally published in the January 1990 edition of Poetry magazine, the poem later appeared in his fourth collection, Questions About Angels, in 1991. With its long, meandering sentences that spill across lines and stanzas, the poem explores ideas of aging and memory, moving from seemingly small, less important details—like the capital of Paraguay—to larger concerns of love and loss, aging and dying.

Throughout the poem, Collins marries his characteristic wit with insight and longing. Over the course of his career, Collins established himself as a poet of the people and as a particularly American voice, examining everyday human themes with humor and poignancy. “Forgetfulness” proves an early example of this spirit, moving deftly between a lighthearted catalog of forgotten items, and more integral things that represent art, connection, and family.

Poet Biography

Born in 1941 New York, the only child of a mother who loved to recite poetry to her young son, and a father who occasionally brought home copies of Poetry magazine, Billy Collins developed an appreciation for language at a young age and wrote his first poem at age 10.