A Bit of Poetry For You

Today, I have been told by Kym, is Poem In Your Pocket Day. A day to select a poem and share it with others. Now. I am not generally a reader of poetry. Much of it goes over my head and I definitely prefer prose. Nevertheless, because it’s good to learn new things, yesterday I searched for a poem to share with all of you today. And I managed to find one that perfectly expresses the way I feel when I read a book.

carver public library for carole knits

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

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This Post Has 12 Comments

  1. There are many times when I don’t get poetry, but when I do, I’m thrilled to find someone that shares my feelings and can express them so succinctly and beautifully. This poem is definitely one that I get. Thanks!

  3. That’s the beauty of art . . . and poetry is art . . . you don’t always “get” it; you don’t always relate to it; you don’t always like it. But when you do? The pieces all click together and you just go, “Yes! That’s IT!”

    What a great poem, Carole. XO

  5. Have to ask… is that your library? So jealous. I’m sure the photographer/you showed it to perfection, but gosh that looks inviting.

  7. Thank-you Carole. I generally don’t get it…or maybe find it too hard to get. This poem, reminds me how important it is to keep reading. Fit. It. In.

  8. Sometimes my relationship with poetry is love/hate. I definitely love the selection you chose.

  9. I am not a poetry reader, either… I wonder if I even have a book of poetry! I appreciate days like this, though, when my friends who love it (and even if they don’t *love* it) share…
    Thanks!

  11. perfect! this line “these linked sentences
    carved out when an author traveled and a reader
    kept the way open” reminds me that one of the cool things about reading is that every reading is different, and that what we readers bring always plays an important role in defining the experience.

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