if you feel that everything is under control

you're just not driving fast enough.

Mario Andreotti, Formula One driver

I came across this quote today in the unlikeliest of places. Billy Collins' introduction to the The Best American Poetry 2006, which he edited. It (the quote, not the anthology) captures exactly where I am as we careen towards the Oakland Museum performance next Friday.

I love a lot of Billy Collins' work. But I can't say his selection really gripped me. Other than the delighted surprise of seeing he'd included Race, a piece on drag car racing, by my friend, Bao Phi. And a gut-wrenching poem by Alison Townsend: What I Never Told You About The Abortion.