Libraries support the local and regional communities and provide invaluable services. Whether public or private, they contain a wealth of information, education and entertainment. It is important to acknowledge and celebrate the existence of our libraries - please consider supporting your local library, especially this month with a donation (remember it is also a tax deduction!).
By supporting libraries (our local library is the Rochester Public Library, which is a stellar example of a wonderful community library), you celebrate the hard working individuals that maintain them through out the year. Libraries have to work hard to stay afloat, especially in these financially stressed times. Consider a donation to the Foundation, to the Friends, to the Friends Bookstore or a donation of materials (books, cds, dvds, music, etc). Lend them a hand the next time they lend you a book.
Poetry has a delightful way of expressing our love and passion. These poems were shared recently at a local bookclub.
IN A LIBRARY
by Emily Dickinson
A precious, mouldering pleasure 't is
To meet an antique book,
In just the dress his century wore;
A privilege, I think,
His venerable hand to take,
And warming in our own,
A passage back, or two, to make
To times when he was young.
His quaint opinions to inspect,
His knowledge to unfold
On what concerns our mutual mind,
The literature of old;
What interested scholars most,
What competitions ran
When Plato was a certainty.
And Sophocles a man;
When Sappho was a living girl,
And Beatrice wore
The gown that Dante deified.
Facts, centuries before,
He traverses familiar,
As one should come to town
And tell you all your dreams were true;
He lived where dreams were sown.
His presence is enchantment,
You beg him not to go;
Old volumes shake their vellum heads
And tantalize, just so.
Book Lovers
Jenny Lewis (The Guardian, 2000)
Let's meet tonight between the covers
to thum each other's spines
like true book lovers.
Steamy passion or sweet romance,
with titles picked at random, our mood will depend on chance.
I'll stroke your hard back and thighs,
trail my fingers over your fly-
leaf - admire your point size.
You'll enjoy ogling my index,
fondling my frontispiece, thinking
I'm just the type you like for sex.
I'll let you flip my pages, skim
my contents, skip my appendix
or linger over my fine lines at whim.
And if I get pregnant (which I won't)
let's meet again - in nine months' time.
You choose the font.
Methodical Preparation
Nan Babcock from Poetic Strokes, Regional anthology of Poetry from SE MN
Selco
Peruse the shelves to find
the exact volume that you want
Read the blurb on the back cover
or the flaps of the dust jacket.
Open the pages
and sniff the scent of ink and paper.
Press open the beginning and
stretch the spine so each word is visible.
Savor with anticipation
the message that will unfold.
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