Slowly I move from one shelf
to the next
browsing a bit
among the different categories
local authors
children's books
philosophy
science of climate change
gender and sex
native americans
and on and on
so much to know about
but in the end it's poetry
that draws me in
I wonder is it just my short attention span
or is there something else
something I need?
I pass over the fatter tomes
looking for something
slender, less intimidating
Ah! here's one
Refusing Heaven by Jack Gilbert
just the sort of title
I've been hoping for
glancing among the pages
I can see this author's been around
Frisco, New York, Seoul, Perugia
Munich, the Greek islands and so on
always questioning the gods
looking for clues
to the human predicament
our loves and lusts
friendships and failures
everyday miracles
he says everything worth doing
is worth doing badly
I can relate to that