Monday, February 9, 2009

I want to get married in a library

In the Library
by Charles Simic

There's a book called
"A Dictionary of Angels."
No one has opened it in fifty years,
I know, because when I did,
The covers creaked, the pages
Crumbled. There I discovered

The angels were once as plentiful
As species of flies.
The sky at dusk
Used to be thick with them.
You had to wave both arms
Just to keep them away.

Now the sun is shining
Through the tall windows.
The library is a quiet place.
Angels and gods huddled
In dark unopened books.
The great secret lies
On some shelf Miss Jones
Passes every day on her rounds.

She's very tall, so she keeps
Her head tipped as if listening.
The books are whispering.
I hear nothing, but she does.

2 comments:

  1. Simic is not my favorite poet, but his images do tend to keep bubbling up to the surface of my increasingly muddled mind. Maybe I should read more of his stuff.

    Thanks for posting.

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  2. Love this poem - and the Atwood one too! That is breathtaking! I'm glad I've found a place to go for some literary soul food - will bookmark you for sure and visit often. I'm a newbie as well - hope you'll stop in to visit. suZen

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