ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Billy Collins - Poet
A two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins captures readers with his understated wit, profound insight -- and a sense of being "hospitable."

Why you should listen

Accessibility is not a word often associated with great poetry. Yet Billy Collins has managed to create a legacy from what he calls being poetically “hospitable.” Preferring lyrical simplicity to abstruse intellectualism, Collins combines humility and depth of perception, undercutting light and digestible topics with dark and at times biting humor.

While Collins approaches his work with a healthy sense of self-deprecation, calling his poems “domestic” and “middle class,” John Taylor has said of Collins: “Rarely has anyone written poems that appear so transparent on the surface yet become so ambiguous, thought-provoking, or simply wise once the reader has peered into the depths.”

In 2001 he was named U.S. Poet Laureate, a title he kept until 2003. Collins lives in Somers, New York, and is an English professor at City University of New York, where he has taught for more than 40 years.

Credits for the animations in this talk:

"Budapest," "Forgetfulness" and "Some Days" -- animation by Julian Grey/Head Gear

"The Country" -- animation by Brady Baltezor/Radium

"The Dead" -- animation by Juan Delcan/Spontaneous
 

More profile about the speaker
Billy Collins | Speaker | TED.com
TED2014

Billy Collins: Two poems about what dogs think (probably)

Billy Collins: Dvije pjesme o tome što psi misle (vjerojatno)

Filmed:
1,748,151 views

Što naši psi misle kada nas pogledaju? Pjesnik Billy Collins zamišlja njihove živote u dva potpuo različita sudrug. To je šarmantan kratki govor, savršen za odmor i sanjarenje...
- Poet
A two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins captures readers with his understated wit, profound insight -- and a sense of being "hospitable." Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
I don't know if you've noticedprimijetio,
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Ne znam jeste primijetili
00:14
but there's been a spatebujica of booksknjige
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da brdo knjiga
00:16
that have come out latelynedavno
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izdanih u zadnje vrijeme
00:17
contemplatingRazmatrajući or speculatingnagađa
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razmatra ili nagađa
00:20
on the cognitionspoznaja and emotionalemotivan life of dogspsi.
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o mentalnom i emocionalnom životu pasa.
00:24
Do they think, do they feel and, if so, how?
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Razmišljaju li, osjećaju li, i ako da, kako?
00:27
So this afternoonposlijepodne, in my limitedograničen time,
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Tako sam ovo poslijepodne,
u kratkom vremenu,
00:29
I wanted to take the guessworknagađanje out of a lot of that
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htio prestati o tome nagađati
00:31
by introducinguvođenje you to two dogspsi,
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predstavljajući vam dva psa,
00:34
bothoba of whomkome have takenpoduzete the commandnaredba "speakgovoriti"
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koja su oba shvatila zapovijed "govori"
00:39
quitedosta literallydoslovce.
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sasvim doslovno.
00:43
The first dogpas is the first to go,
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Kreće prvi pas koji
00:46
and he is contemplatingRazmatrajući an aspectaspekt
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razmišlja o aspektu
00:50
of his relationshipodnos to his ownervlasnik,
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svog odnosa sa svojim vlasnikom,
00:52
and the titletitula is "A DogPas on His MasterMajstor."
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a naslov je "Pas o Svom Gospodaru."
00:57
"As youngmladi as I look,
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"Koliko god izgledao mlado,
00:59
I am growingrastući olderstariji fasterbrže than he.
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starim brže od njega.
01:02
SevenSedam to one is the ratioomjer, they tendskloni to say.
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Sedam naprama jedan je omjer, kažu.
01:06
WhateverŠto god the numberbroj, I will passproći him one day
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Koji god bio broj, preći ću ga jednog dana
01:09
and take the leaddovesti,
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i stati na čelo,
01:11
the way I do on our walksšetnje in the woodsšume,
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kao što to činim tijekom
naših šetnji kroz šumu,
01:14
and if this ever managesupravlja to crosskriž his mindum,
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i ako mu to ikada uspije proći kroz glavu,
01:18
it would be the sweetestnajslađi shadowsjena
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bila bi to najslađa sjenka
01:20
I have ever castbaciti on snowsnijeg or grasstrava."
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koju sam ikada bacio na snijeg ili travu."
01:25
(ApplausePljesak)
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(Pljesak)
01:28
Thank you.
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Hvala.
01:31
And our nextSljedeći dogpas
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Naš sljedeći pas
01:34
speaksgovori in something calledzvao the revenantVelečasni,
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obraća se u obliku duha
01:37
whichkoji meanssredstva a spiritduh that comesdolazi back
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koji se vraća
01:39
to visitposjetiti you.
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posjetiti vas.
01:43
"I am the dogpas you put to sleepspavati,
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"Ja sam pas kojeg si uspavao,
01:47
as you like to call the needleigla of oblivionzaborav,
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kako voliš nazivati iglu zaborava,
01:50
come back to tell you this simplejednostavan thing:
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vrativši se da ti samo kažem ovo:
01:53
I never likedvolio you."
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nikada mi se nisi sviđao."
01:55
(LaughterSmijeh)
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(Smijeh)
01:57
"When I lickedlizali your facelice,
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"Kada sam ti lizao lice,
01:59
I thought of bitingoštar off your nosenos.
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razmišljao sam o tome da ti odgrizem nos.
02:02
When I watchedgledao you towelingBrisanje ručnikom yourselfsami drysuho,
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Dok sam te promatrao kako se brišeš ručnikom,
02:05
I wanted to leapskok and unmanunman you with a snappuckanje.
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želio sam skočiti i uškopiti te jednim ugrizom.
02:09
I resentedUpravo zbog the way you movedpomaknuto,
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Zamjerao sam ti kako se krećeš,
02:11
your lacknedostatak of animalživotinja gracemilost,
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tvoj nedostatak životinjske otmjenosti,
02:13
the way you would sitsjediti in a chairstolica to eatjesti,
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način na koji bi sjeo na stolicu da objeduješ,
02:16
a napkinubrus on your lapkrug, a knifenož in your handruka.
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ubrus na tvom krilu, nož u ruci.
02:20
I would have runtrčanje away
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Bio bih pobjegao
02:22
but I was too weakslab,
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no bio sam preslab,
02:23
a tricktrik you taughtučio me
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trik koji si me naučio
02:25
while I was learningučenje to sitsjediti and heelPeta
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dok sam učio sjesti i biti uz nogu
02:28
and, greatestnajveći of insultsuvrede,
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i, najveća od svih uvreda,
02:30
shaketresti handsruke withoutbez a handruka.
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rukovati se bez ruke.
02:34
I admitpriznati the sightvid of the leashremen would exciteoduševiti me,
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Priznajem da bi me prizor uzice ushitio,
02:38
but only because it meantznačilo I was about to smellmiris things
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ali samo zato što je
to značilo da ću uskoro omirisati stvari
02:41
you had never touchedganut.
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koje ti nikada nisi dodirnuo.
02:46
You do not want to believe this,
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Ne želiš to vjerovati,
02:47
but I have no reasonrazlog to lielaž:
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no nemam razloga lagati:
02:50
I hatedomrznut the carautomobil, hatedomrznut the rubberguma toysigračke,
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mrzio sam auto, mrzio gumene igračke,
02:54
dislikednevoljen your friendsprijatelji, and worsegore, your relativesrođaci.
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nisu mi se sviđali tvoji prijatelji, a još manje tvoji rođaci.
02:59
The jinglingbez svijesti of my tagsoznake drovestado me madlud.
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Izluđivalo me zveckanje mojih privjesaka.
03:03
You always scratchedpočešao me in the wrongpogrešno placemjesto."
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Uvijek si me češkao na pogrešnim mjestima."
03:06
(LaughterSmijeh)
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(Smijeh)
03:08
"All I ever wanted from you was foodhrana and watervoda
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"Sve što sam ikada htio
od tebe bila je hrana i voda
03:11
in my bowlsbokali.
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u mojim zdjelicama.
03:13
While you sleptspavao, I watchedgledao you breathedisati
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Dok si spavao, promatrao sam te kako dišeš
03:15
as the moonmjesec roseruža in the skynebo.
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dok se mjesec dizao na nebu.
03:17
It tookuzeo all of my strengthsnaga
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Trebala mi je sva snaga
03:19
not to raisepodići my headglava and howlzavija.
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da ne podignem glavu i zatulim.
03:22
Now, I am freebesplatno of the collarovratnik,
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Sada sam slobodan od ogrlice,
03:24
freebesplatno of the yellowžuta boja raincoatkabanica,
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slobodan od žute kabanice,
03:27
monogrammedMonogram sweaterdžemper,
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džempera s monogramom,
03:29
the absurdityapsurd of your lawntravnjak,
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apsurda tvog travnjaka,
03:32
and that is all you need to know about this placemjesto,
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i to je sve što trebaš znati o ovome mjestu,
03:35
exceptosim what you alreadyveć supposedtrebala
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osim onoga što si već pretpostavio
03:38
and are gladradostan it did not happendogoditi se soonerprije,
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i što ti je drago da se nije ranije dogodilo,
03:40
that everyonesvatko here can readčitati and writepisati,
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da svatko ovdje može čitati i pisati,
03:43
the dogspsi in poetrypoezija,
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psi u poeziji,
03:47
the catsmačke and all the othersdrugi
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mačke i svi ostali
03:50
in proseproza."
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u prozi."
03:52
Thank you.
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Hvala.
03:54
(ApplausePljesak)
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(Pljesak)
Translated by Maja Covic
Reviewed by Senzos Osijek

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Billy Collins - Poet
A two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins captures readers with his understated wit, profound insight -- and a sense of being "hospitable."

Why you should listen

Accessibility is not a word often associated with great poetry. Yet Billy Collins has managed to create a legacy from what he calls being poetically “hospitable.” Preferring lyrical simplicity to abstruse intellectualism, Collins combines humility and depth of perception, undercutting light and digestible topics with dark and at times biting humor.

While Collins approaches his work with a healthy sense of self-deprecation, calling his poems “domestic” and “middle class,” John Taylor has said of Collins: “Rarely has anyone written poems that appear so transparent on the surface yet become so ambiguous, thought-provoking, or simply wise once the reader has peered into the depths.”

In 2001 he was named U.S. Poet Laureate, a title he kept until 2003. Collins lives in Somers, New York, and is an English professor at City University of New York, where he has taught for more than 40 years.

Credits for the animations in this talk:

"Budapest," "Forgetfulness" and "Some Days" -- animation by Julian Grey/Head Gear

"The Country" -- animation by Brady Baltezor/Radium

"The Dead" -- animation by Juan Delcan/Spontaneous
 

More profile about the speaker
Billy Collins | Speaker | TED.com