Congress asked Collins to do that, as poet laureate, to commemorate the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Initially he declined. “I didn’t want to,” he said. “But later, as I thought about it, it disturbed me that I didn’t feel I was up to the challenge.”

Collins used vivid imagery and an alphabetic device for "The Names," a eulogy to the 2,974 victims of the attacks. He read the poem before a joint session of Congress specially convened in New York City on Sept. 6, 2002.

“I remember the tears running down Sen. Patrick Moynihan’s face," he said. "It was an interesting way to see the country’s politicians.”

In moments like those, Collins said, he understands the power of a poem.

Collins recently has found inspiration in this lodge on Lake Altus Lugert, about 35 miles north of the Texas border. He calls it an "end-of-the-line experience."

“There’s a railroad line here, but it only goes one way, to ship wheat out," he said. "And there’s only one road into the lodge. It’s like Oklahoma’s Shangri-la."