Celebrating National Poetry Month: #15

An Afternoon in the Stacks

Closing the book, I find I have left my head
inside. It is dark in here, but the chapters open
their beautiful spaces and give a rustling sound,
words adjusting themselves to their meaning.
Long passages open at successive pages. An echo,
continuous from the title onward, hums
behind me. From in here the world looms,
a jungle redeemed by these linked sentences
carved out when an author traveled and a reader
kept the way open. When this book ends
I will pull it inside-out like a sock
and throw it back in the library. But the rumor
of it will haunt all that follows in my life.
A candleflame in Tibet leans when I move.

-William Stafford

Comments

  1. Thanks again for giving us the idea to celebrate poetry all month. We've been having fun reading all of yours.

    ReplyDelete
  2. *But the rumor
    of it will haunt all that follows in my life.*
    Gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, wow. That is amazing. It is just how I felt when I finished "Jane Eyre" earlier this week.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I always enjoy reading comments!