Billy Collins poem, I go back to the House for a Book looks at the art of decision making, and learning to just live life. Collins poem focuses on how people should learn to simplify their everyday lives and just go with the flow.
Collins writes, "But there is no catching him, no way to slow him down and put us back in sync, unless one day he decides to go back to the house for something"(39). Once you make a decision you have to stick with it, don't regret it or fret over it. What is done is done, and through this poem, Collins is trying to point out that you have to except the choices you make. If you don't, you could drive yourself crazy with "what ifs." Collins "I" character can not catch up with his ghost since he went back for the book, just like we can not take back a previous decision.
Also, the decision you make may make you better off in the long run. Even though the ghost figure is "three minutes ahead"(39), the "I" character, which we can assume is Collins, is better skilled in the love poems of Ovid. Ovid was a roman poet who wrote on the topics of love, abandoned woman, and mythological transformations. Collins proves to the reader that even though he gave some time in going back to the house, he was able to gain insight from the book he went back to grab. This emphasizes the point of expecting the decisions made, and not fretting over those lost.
What is interesting, is that Collins chooses to use the word fateful in describing his decision. Collin writes, "I who went back to the house that fateful winter morning and got the book"(40). The use of the word fateful simply ties into the idea of decisions changing the course of live. Even small, maybe insignificant choices alter the path the person is taking.
Through I go back to the House for a Book, Collins tries to display that life is quick, slow down and enjoy it. You will always be faced with decisions, and once you have made your choice stick with it. Do not bother yourself with regret or questioning, now that the decision is made and that is all that you can do about it.
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