The Lanyard poem
“ The Lanyard” by Billy Collins is about a young boy who was away at camp. He described how he learned to make a lanyard in which he was going to give to his mother. The poem was very descriptive with the colors he made the lanyard and the way he braided it. The lanyard was sort of boxy and was made with red and white string. I thought it was kind of funny because he didn’t even know what a lanyard was for. The poem said “I had never seen anyone use a lanyard or wear one, if that’s even what you did with them.” Even though he didn’t know what it was for, he had his mother in mind and just kept crossing the red and white strings.
As he was making this lanyard he mentions how his mother gave him life, and milk from her breast and all he has in return is this lanyard. He is realizing that he could never repay his mother in any way close to what she had done for him. He almost sounded disappointed when he expresses that she supplies him with everything he needs and he says here is your lanyard. There is almost a sense of sarcasm in the way it is worded. His mother gave him a heart beat, strong legs and bones and a breathing body, and all he can do is repay her with a Lanyard.
I could relate to this poem because I can remember coming home from school with a little gift that I made for my mom. I never really though of it in a way or repaying her for all the things she has supplied me with, but this has opened my eyes. I love my mom to death and if I could ever repay her for all the things she has done for me, I would do it in an instant.