I want to dedicate my first post in English to my lovely friends in the U.K. 🙂 Today I am sharing with you two poems I wrote as part of my poetry collection «Ephemeral» while studying in Newcastle a few years ago.
Do you think books live their own lives? I do!
Sonnets on Library Life
by Nora Graff Kleven
I
A scholarly gentleman gladly enters,
by habits long had and boundlessly dear,
into the ancient library centre;
a well-cherished friend through many lone years.
By the sparkling fire he finds himself free,
as he brings to life the words on the page,
adventuring back to lost boyhood dreams –
Thus summoning heroes of a distant age:
Tall windmills fought by a deluded knight,
young master hobbit on perilous quests,
or wizards ‘n’ dragons in breathless flight;
Sword in hand and deathless pride in their chests.
Touched by the story of the Dark Lord’s rings,
our friend takes flight with Fantasy’s grand wings.
II
In the nightly hour, when no one comes by,
do the books question their worth, filled with doubt?
Volume upon volume craving keen eyes,
«Is there no one that cares what we’re about?»
Or do they make out each other’s stories;
proudly rubbing cover against cover
to celebrate their prevailing glory
with passion, like literary lovers?
Still all of this is their secret to keep:
When the new dawn breaks, fresh stories begin
that grace us with laughter or make us weep
as old heroes die and new ones step in.
Remain will the power that books have to touch
and move us in ways we cherish so much.
Nora