From the former Poet Laureate of the United States and New York Times bestselling author comes a wondrous new collection of sixty new poems focused on the joys and mysteries of everyday life

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“Among the best poems that [Billy] Collins has ever written.”—Maureen Corrigan, NPR

“Witty, wry and tender when it hurts, Water, Water is a pleasure to read and easy to give.”—The Washington Post

In Water, Water, Collins combines his vigilant attention and respect for the peripheral to create moments of delight. Common and uncommon events are captured here with equal fascination, be it a cat leaning to drink from a swimming pool, a nurse calling a name in a waiting room, or an astronaut reciting Emily Dickinson from outer space. With his trademark lyrical informality, Collins asks us to slow down and glimpse the elevated in the ordinary, the odd in the familiar. It’s no surprise that The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both call Collins one of America’s favorite poets.

The Monet Conundrum

Is every one of these poems
different from the others
he asked himself,
as the rain quieted down,

or are they all the same poem,
haystack after haystack
at different times of day,
different shadows and shades of hay?

Format: Trade Paperback

Author: Collins, Billy

Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks

Pub Date: September 30, 2025

Category: Poetry / American

ISBN: 9780593731048

Evening House Books

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Poetry Collections

I Love Hearing Your Dreams

Say Fire

Water, Water

The Divination of Salmon: Poems

Last Stops of the Night Journey