Why This Blog Is Called "The Evening Paper"

In case you've ever asked yourself, "Why is this blog called 'The Evening Paper'?" (and even if you haven't), I will tell you. 

It's from a poem by Billy Collins called "Litany." He starts by quoting another poet's metaphor, "You are the bread and the knife, the crystal goblet and the wine." Collins then adds a few more images to the pile before turning around in the second stanza and telling his beloved all the things she could NOT be. ("There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.") 

In the last part of the poem, he tells the interlocutor what imagery he thinks best fits himself ("I am the sound of rain on the roof") before reassuring her that "you are still the bread and the knife."

One of the images he uses for himself is "the evening paper blowing down an alley." I like that image and I usually write my posts in the evening, so "The Evening Paper" seemed appropriate. 

Here's a video of a 3-year-old kid reciting "Litany" from memory.

"You are the bread and the knife,

the crystal goblet and the wine.

You are the dew on the morning grass

and the burning wheel of the sun.

You are the white apron of the baker,

and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.

However, you are not the wind in the orchard,

the plums on the counter,

or the house of cards.

And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.

There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.

It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,

maybe even the pigeon on the general's head,

but you are not even close

to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.

And a quick look in the mirror will show

that you are neither the boots in the corner

nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.

It might interest you to know,

speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,

that I am the sound of rain on the roof.

I also happen to be the shooting star,

the evening paper blowing down an alley

and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.

I am also the moon in the trees

and the blind woman's tea cup.

But don't worry, I'm not the bread and the knife.

You are still the bread and the knife.

You will always be the bread and the knife,

not to mention the crystal goblet and--somehow--the wine."