The music is loud yet so confidential.

I cannot help feeling even more

like the center of the universe

than usual as I walk along to a rapid

little version of “The Way You Look Tonight,”

and all I can say to my fellow pedestrians,

to the woman in the white sweater,

the man in the tan raincoat and the heavy glasses,

who mistake themselves for the center of the universe —

all I can say is watch your step,

because the five of us, instruments and all,

are about to angle over

to the south side of the street

and then, in our own tightly knit way,

turn the corner at Sixth Avenue.

—“Man Listening to Disc,”
Billy Collins.

What message is made about music?