Billy Collins says a few things about transitions . . .
A Word About Transitions
by: Billy Collins
Moreover is not a good way to begin a poem
though many start somewhere in the middle.
Secondly should not be placed
at the opening of your second stanza.
Furthermore should be regarded
as a word to avoid.
Aforementioned is rarely found
in poems at all and for good reason.
Most steer clear of notwithstanding
and the same goes for
nevertheless, however,
as a consequence, in any event,
subsequently,
and as we have seen in the previous chapters.
Finally's appearance at the top
of the final stanza is not going to help.
All of which suggests (another no-no)
that poems don't need to tell us where we are
or what is soon to come.
For Example, the white bowl of lemons
on a table by a window
is fine all by itself
and, in conclusion, so are
seven elephants standing in the rain.
Today was a difficult transition day. Earlier this afternoon, I learned the President Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100. So, we are now transitioning to a post-Jimmy Carter world.
Jimmy Carter was the first President of the United States I remember. I was too young for Nixon or Ford to have made any kind of impression on me. But I remember clearly the Jimmy Carter years, which were marked by long lines at the gasoline pump and the Camp David Peace Accords (for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize), among other things.
Jimmy Carter was by no means a perfect man or president, and he would have been the first person to admit that. Humility was a huge part of who he was. He recognized his mistakes, owned them, and learned from them. In his post-presidential years, he did remarkable things. Habitat for Humanity. The Carter Center. Books of memoir, religion, and poetry. He was faithfully married to his wife for 77 years.
In short, Jimmy Carter was moral, ethical, and honest in his personal life and as President of the United States. Some people criticize his progressive values and label his four years in the Oval Office as a failure. My response to such criticisms: we should be so lucky to have a failure like him as President-elect right now.
I'm not kidding when I say that I hope I can be half the man that James Earl Carter was. It feels like the Grand Canyon has been filled in or the Mississippi River has dried up. I know, I know. People die. Death and taxes, blah blah blah.
I just wish this particular transition had been gentler, like the shift of light from afternoon to evening, Or the last minor chord in Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," when we're all reminded of things we used to know.
So, finally and in conclusion, Saint Marty gives thanks for the life and work of Jimmy Carter, who once said, "The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens."
Amen, Mr. President. Amen.
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