I don’t know if a poet can be a rock star, but if anyone merits that title, it would be Billy Collins. Collins is the former Poet Laureate of the United States, winner of the Mark Twain Prize for Humor in Poetry, and the author of numerous poetry collections.

"It is never too late to experience the joy of poetry. And there is no better person to be your guide than the graceful and talented Billy Collins."

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to see and hear Collins at the Tucson Festival of Books in Arizona. Walking into one of the large ballrooms on the University of Arizona campus, I was surprised that it was almost filled. There were probably a thousand fans awaiting his appearance. He received a standing ovation as he walked on stage and read some of his favorite poems for nearly an hour, each ending with thunderous applause. It might have lasted for several hours, but the festival adheres to a very strict schedule. After all, Collins had plenty of books to sign.

I now proudly have in my collection a signed copy of the first Collins poem I ever experienced. I attended a program at the National Judicial College on Law and Literature, and the class began with a reading of “Introduction to Poetry.” It's a simple verse of 16 lines, and here's how it begins.

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

Collins encourages us to read poems with an open mind, looking for their meaning and enjoying the process rather than demanding a single correct interpretation. But he ends “Introduction to Poetry” with the sad observation that many poetry readers expect something else.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

When I began teaching, I would start each semester by reading Collins to my students. Sharing his poetry became a fixture of the legal classes I taught.

WATER, WATER is Collins’ latest collection. It includes 60 new poems that continue his unique ability to write about the beauty and irony of everyday life. “Fire” contemplates what you might snatch out of your house should it catch on fire. For me, it is both thoughtful and entertaining because it includes a mention of one of my favorite books, LONESOME DOVE. You will have to read the poem to determine how Collins connects a classic novel with a burning house.

The book is introspective, perhaps a little more than Collins’ previous efforts, but there are always references to the joys of life and unique experiences that for Collins can be treated as opportunities to glimpse how those events impact our lives. I believe it is those wry observations that set him apart from other more traditional poets.

In “The Brooklyn Dodgers,” Collins turns to his youth.

Whenever my father
would take me to the ballpark
I would open up the newspaper
the next morning
to check out the box score.

The poem explains that the box score is more than hits, runs and errors. It includes the number of fans in attendance, serving as a reminder that they are part of one moment in baseball history --- sometimes insignificant, other times unforgettable.

While I could go on far longer in sharing my appreciation of WATER, WATER, I will leave it to readers to make their own discoveries. It is never too late to experience the joy of poetry. And there is no better person to be your guide than the graceful and talented Billy Collins.