The Dead

The dead are always looking down on us, they say,


while we are putting on our shoes or making a sandwich,


they are looking down through the glass bottom boats of heaven


as they row themselves slowly through eternity.

 

They watch the tops of our heads moving below on earth,


and when we lie down in a field or on a couch,


drugged perhaps by the hum of a long afternoon,


they think we are looking back at them,

 

which makes them lift their oars and fall silent


and wait, like parents, for us to close our eyes.

– Billy Collins

There are several wonderful animations of Billy Collins’ poems, this is an absolute favorite of mine. Some of the animations function more as illustrations, this one has its own life. It is in no way compromising the poem, actually it is enhancing it.