1
The History TeacherTrying to protect his students' innocencehe told them the Ice Age was really justthe Chilly Age, a period of a million yearswhen everyone had to wear sweaters. And the Stone Age became the Gravel Age, named after the long driveways of the time. The Spanish Inquisition was nothing morethan an outbreak of questions such as" How far is it from here to Madrid?""What do you call the matador's hat?" The War of the Roses took place in a garden, and the Enola Gay dropped one tiny atom on Japan.The children would leave his classroomfor the playground to torment the weakand the smart, mussing up their hair and breaking their glasses, while he gathered up his notes and walked homepast flower beds and white picket fences, wondering if they would believe that soldiersin the Boer War told long, rambling storiesdesigned to make the enemy nod off.Billy Collins
2
I love to move like a mouse inside this puzzle for the body, balancing the wish to be lost with the need to be found.Billy Collins
3
Is there a better method of departure by night than this quiet bon voyage with an open book, the sole companion who has come to see you off, to wave you into the dark waters beyond language?Billy Collins