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Reflecting on his inadequate gift of a lanyard, Collins says that he "wish[es] to say to her now" that he recognizes her many gifts to him.  Does this mean that she is dead or that he is realizing her value in his life too late?

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Reflecting on his inadequate gift of a lanyard, Collins says that he "wish[es] to say to her now" that he recognizes her many gifts to him.  Does this mean that she is dead or that he is realizing her value in his life too late?

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In his poem "The Lanyard," Billy Collins talks about what his mom did for him as a child. Shown throughout the poem both himself and his mom uses word “here”  multiple times. In one sentence the mom says, “Here are thousands of meals she said, and here is clothing and a good education.” Collins resp with, "And here is your lanyard," suggesting he thought that he was on an equal plain with his mom. Realizing later in his life that his gift of the lanyards     could not compare to all the things his mom did through him growing up.

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If Collins believes that the lanyard is “this useless worthless thing that I wove out of boredom,” why would he continue making it instead of making something he thinks is of value to give to his mother--especially if he wants to repay her for everything she has done for him?

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Why does Collins act like the lanyard is the only thing he gave to his mother. He states that,“I was sure as a boy can be that this useless worthless thing I wove out of boredom would be enough to make us even” which gives off the vibe that giving her the lanyard was the only thing he did in exchange for everything in life she supplied him with. Does this mean that she died very early in his life and he didn’t have an opportunity to do much else for her, or is it just retrospect and he feels that the lanyard symbolizes the quality of his gifts to her, which are pale in comparison to the gifts she gave him, and now it is too late to repay her (either because the time to do so has passed or because he feels like she won't appreciate it as much as she would if he were younger)?

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When Collins is bored, he opens up the dictionary. When he sees the word “lanyard,” a very specific story from his childhood about a lanyard immediately floods back to him. He says that nothing “could send one more suddenly into the past.” Why is the memory of him making a lanyard for his mother so important to him?

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In the poem “The Lanyard” by Billy Collins a boy is describing how repayment to parents does not exist. The boy speaks about how “this useless worthless thing I wove out of boredom would be enough to make us even” and how he felt “rueful admission” when he realized later on that the lanyard wasn’t enough to repay his mom, and he should have done more for her. Does this imply that she died before he was able to repay her?

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Collins says, “This useless worthless thing I wove out of boredom would be enough to make us even.” It seems that as a boy he thought that the lanyard would be enough. At the time he had thought he was repaying her and his intentions were good, that the gift he made was equal to everything his mother had done for him. Does he feel like he could have repaid her more, and if so does that make him feel guilty?  Does it upset him or not satisfy him now that he’s learned more lessons and grown?

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Collins says, “This useless worthless thing I wove out of boredom would be enough to make us even.” It seems that as a boy he thought that the lanyard would be enough. At the time he had thought he was repaying her and his intentions were good, that the gift he made was equal to everything his mother had done for him. Does he feel like he could have repaid her more, and if so does that make him feel guilty?  Does it upset him or not satisfy him now that he’s learned more lessons and grown?

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-Avery

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In the text, Collins describes the lanyard as “a boxy, red and white lanyard for my mother.” Is there a reason he chose these colors for the lanyard? What do these colors represent?

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In the poem "The Lanyard," because the lanyard was made out of boredom it wasn't a very good gift, like giving someone your garbage. It doesn't make much sense that he gave his mother a lanyard and  not something he made with more time and effort. Maybe he wasn't thinking of the "debt" that he was in towards his mother, but if you give a gift to someone, it should always be something meaningful even if it isn't much. This what he realizes after it's too late.

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In the poem, author Billy Collins repetitively talks about how he had made a lanyard for his mother. He explains that lanyard itself can never repay his mother for everything she has done for him. At the end of the poem he says, “And here, I wish to say to her now...but the rueful admission that when she took the two-tone lanyard from my hand, I was as sure as a boy could be that this useless, worthless thing I wove out of boredom would be enough to make us even.¨ Even though the lanyard is a literal object in this quote, does the word lanyard symbolize something like identity?

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The speaker has belated recognition for his mother who cared for her child and did everything she could to allow it to thrive in this world. Billy Collins describes how the speaker as a child was gullible and innocent and didn’t quite understand how much his mother had done for him. He recalls making a lanyard at a summer camp after flipping to the word lanyard in the dictionary. He remembers making it with little effort and time and giving it to his mother as a gift. He believed that the lanyard would make the two even and that it was an act of recognition and thanks toward his mother that would repay his debt to her for bringing him into this world. He now realizes that this gift was meaningless in comparison to the love she gave him. "And here, I wish to say to her now, is a smaller gift....the rueful admission" His ignorance made him feel as if he was even with his mother.

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Collins says, “I was sure as a boy could be that this useless worthless thing I wove out of boredom would be enough to make us even.” Why did the child Collins believe that giving a gift he “wove out of boredom” was enough to make his even with his mother? Why did he even give a “useless worthless thing” to his mother in the first place?