Nine Horses, by Billy Collins is a collection of about 50 poems. His subject matter ranges from art to birthdays to Colorado.

Now, I get it: poetry is not everybody’s cup of tea. But I want to encourage you to try – every once in a while – to read a small book of poems.

Poetry is not about understanding the “deep” or “hidden” meanings in the lines, as many of the critics will tell you. It’s about using words to express emotions that we all feel because we are all human beings.

You won’t like every poet. And of those you like, you won’t like every poem. But there’s something special about trying to see the world through someone else’s eyes and realizing you feel the same things.

Blue Horses is my first exposure to Billy Collins. A quote on the back of the book likens him to Robert Frost. Another says he’s charming. To be honest with you, I haven’t read enough Robert Frost to know if that’s true, but I can say I was not “charmed” by Collins. In fact, I found him rather negative and pessimistic. Collins’ poems, like the nine horses that adorn the cover of the book, could be called modern art. While they lack the beauty I usually seek in the written word, they offer something for everyone to observe.

There were several poems that I enjoyed because I realized we share common ground in the way we think about certain things. Those poems I will share with you because I don’t condemn a collection of poems just because I don’t like one. I want you to decide for yourself whether you think this is an author worth reading further. Reading, even if you don’t care for the material, helps us grow as humans. I can walk away from Collins glad I read his work for myself. And occasionally if I remember something he said about this or that, I can smile because in that small way, we are still connected.

What is the last book of poems you read?