On the Shelf

Some have waited years,
patient, gathering dust,
in the hope that I will live up
to my good intentions
and master the history
of British Kings
or learn about Gandhi's life
in his own words.
 
A few stand smugly,
confident they will soon be chosen:
the books about a bear cub
that I am reading to my daughter,
or the ones being hoarded
for my summer vacation
and the guaranteed pleasure
of Patrick O'Brian, Michael Connelly,
Alexander McCall Smith.
     
Others press themselves thin,
knowing each new arrival
threatens to displace them,
books received as gifts
whose titles or covers
or daunting first paragraphs
have damned them 
to the lower ranks.
     
At the bottom left
stands the dictionary,
a figure so awe-inspiring
to the rest
they never guess
how he dreads
a new edition.

(First published in Main Street Rag)

 


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