Alone in the Library Stacks
One morning the sky turns to charcoal,
the wind gusting until the leaves expose
their silver underbellies. You crank
open the window and smell the rain,
the elms, the catalpas, the split melon
of summer. You are alone with
the forgotten books, Gandalf
in the Eddas, the whirling Sufi,
Madame B’s Victorian theosophy.
You run your finger along the spines,
read the checkout cards, the names
inked as if from a séance of fountain pens
and Palmer cursive. With the croon
of mourning doves, the drumming shower,
the window creaking on its hinge,
you click on the light above your carrel.
You puzzle over unfamiliar pages,
the Fat Lady as Christ in Salinger, the dung
beetle in Kafka. The day gone quiet,
the library desk waxing with possibility.
*
Al Ortolani’s newest collection of poems, The Taco Boat, was recently released by NYQ Books. His first novel, Bull in the Ring, was just published by Meadowlark Press. Ortolani, a husband, father, and grandfather, is currently entertaining the idea of becoming a hermit. However, his wife prefers the company of the neighborhood feminists, and his dog Stanley refuses to live without treats.
A phenomenal poem! Al’s a very talented writer
Excellent poem. His writing evokes the senses. I love that he referenced Seymour’s ‘fat lady’ to Christ in Franny & Zooey. It’s absolutely correct, Matthew 25:40, the verse where Christ reminds us:
‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
That last stanza packs a real punch.
The split melon of summer…yes ❤️
I was in that library!