Horoscopes For the Dead

Billy Collins's latest book feels a bit different, and in some ways better, to me than his previous work. Many of the poems are less funny and less formulaic, more somber, more poem-ey. Here's the start of the title poem (click here to see the whole thing):

Every morning since you fell down on the face of the earth,
I read about you in the newspaper
along with the box scores, the weather, and all the bad news.

Sometimes I am reminded that today
will not be a wildly romantic time for you,
nor will you be challenged by educational goals
nor will you need to be circumspect at the workplace.