The Corner Bookstore
She lost me in Whispering Leaves…
“Only need a few minutes,” I said,
“go ahead…run your errands,
I’ll be here when you get back.”
She smiled that smile and said,
“See you later then.” I’m a terrible
liar. As I stepped through the portal
of this urban nook, books stacked
floor to ceiling, in eccentric, hoarded fashion, shelves, if there were any,
buried deep beneath dusty tomes begging to be touched, to feel
the gentle caress of fingertips
sliding along the page edges,
turning each sepia-stained leaf
to reveal hidden treasure.
It had only been minutes when the
store clerk weaved toward me
through narrow pathways banked
by beautiful books, my wife in tow,
“Here she is…” she declared, while
glancing at the title of my recent find.
“That’s a good one,” she winked,
“you should take it with you…”
My dear partner, my heart, smiled
that smile again, “you should, take
that book home, and a maybe few others.”
I don’t deserve her, I mused, as she
carried my new, old books to the register.
~kat
NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 16 Challenge: write a poem in which you closely describe an object or place, and then end with a much more abstract line that doesn’t left seemindaysgly have anything to do with that object or place, but which, of course, really does.
like mercury colliding... 