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WHY I WOULD RATHER BE A PAINTER.

Publisher	Modern Poetry Association
Publication	Poetry
Subject	Literature/writing
Format	Magazine/Journal
ISSN	0032-2032
Issues per Year	12
Volume	175
Issue	3
Published	2000-01-01

Role	Type	Name
Author	n/a	Billy Collins

   For one thing
   instead of just sitting in a straight back chair
   hunched over a ring of lamplight

   I would be standing on a drop cloth
   surrounded by open cans of paint,
   every one a well of color.

   Instead of spending the morning in a corner
   I would pace back and forth
   under a skylight with gliding clouds.

   I would walk the length of a room
   that used to be a factory for a company
   that sold hat bands, or neckties, or zippers.

   Instead of putting one word after another
   like building a train
   from the locomotive back

   I would lay one color...

[This journal article is 324 words long]