I found this poem interesting because of the unimportance that Billy Collins finds with his weight and his physical appearance.
In today's society, many people, including myself, are concerned about their weight and the idea of being fit. People obsess everyday about how they look and if the number on their scale is fluctuating or staying constant.
He shows society's obsession by saying how "the fat ones linger on the Mars scale and the emaciated slow up the line for Neptune". People find such interest in being different than they really are. If we were all only skinnier, more muscular, prettier, smarter, or had more money. The world would be "happier" if everyone had just more stuff or if we could just change one aspect of our lives. However, Collins speaks of how he has contentment with his own life. He recognizes that although on different planets we would all be different weights and possibly different personalities, living on Earth and being who he is on Earth is exactly how life is supposed to be and he is going to enjoy that. He is going to enjoy the life he has and all the aspects of life that people normally look over but are not found on any other planet, such as the distance from the sun and the presence of water.
If the Earth was any further away from the sun, planet earth as we know would freeze over. However, on the other hand, if the sun was any closer to Earth the planet would burn up. Everyday we take advantage of this fact. Also, the presence of water is perfect for supporting wildlife and human life here on Earth and we rarely consider this on a daily basis.
People often wish their lives were different than they are but do not take the time to appreciate what is around them.
I found “Earthling” interesting as well; it’s definitely one of my favorite Billy Collins’ poems thus far. I couldn’t agree more with you in that Collins speaks of contentment, rather than wishing for a different weight, planet, or…life. I like how you talk about the Earth’s physical qualities in relation to the poem –qualities that if changed would mess everything up! I didn’t think of that idea – the Earth is essentially “perfect” the way it is, which, honestly, when you think about it, makes this life more than enough.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of my favorite Billy Collins poems too! I think you touch on exactly what Billy Collins wants people to take from this poem. A life spent incessantly searching to uncover and change "imperfection" after "imperfection" makes it hard to find joy in much of anything. Billy Collins wishes that we would all just take a step back and enjoy time reflecting on how special our lives really are. Like you highlighted, we should learn to rejoice in the beauty of this world, whose existence is so very fragile to begin with.
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