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  May 2019 Frank Russell
Valsa George
Stealing away from the noise and glare
I paced the aisles of an ancient library
Being worn and tired, indisposed to read
I sat in a corner, lost in half reverie

Around me were books stacked end on end
In safely locked glass and wooden shelves
And sectioned into different genres
Fiction, non- fiction, verse et al, in thinly layered leaves

I felt lost in this vast continent of erudite friends
Poet, scholar, philosopher and sage, each sat quiet
But those silent souls seemed to crave for human touch
Waiting to serve anytime learning’s lovesome diet

Closely sheltered from the tumult of the world
The place, though serene had an eerie air
And books like so many beauties in a harem
Were kept away in seclusion just to admire

The lifeless air and the long deserted look
Mildly disturbed my inner calm
Couldn’t digest man’s total disregard of books
Which for long, to many a lonely soul, served as balm

Sitting amid those gallant souls
I thought over the relentless efforts of sage like men
Who in the stillness of the night, in their cloistured cells
Plunged into research and meditative reflection

What knowledge is garnered in these tomes!
What all charms, encased in these pages!
To what magic lands they can carry us
Sharing with us the accumulated wisdom of ages

With the profusion of electronic gadgets
And information, readily available by a finger hit
Books no more are given a venerable treat
And fated to be stashed away in corners unlit

Heavy with the time tested wisdom of the wise
They sit huddled together in damp corners
Longing to get a little human warmth
But sadly neglected like rusted burners

After an hour’s enervating reprieve
While I was leaving that dumb world
In my ears, fell a faint sound
Of the agonizing cry of the Printed Word!
Frank Russell May 2019
Blue jeans and lipstick
she awaits her beloved  -
sirens in distance







- fr
Frank Russell May 2019
My home.  Behind dumpster.
Live there.  Sleep with gravel
     tearing my cheekbone.
Get work sometimes  -
     not enough paycheck
     to move out.
Food, cigs, quart of beer.
Money spent.

Need to use facility.
Some businesses just say "no."
Others have restrooms that read:
     "Customers Only."
But money spent.

Go back home.  Behind dumpster.
Doin' my business.

White car pulls up.
Officer steps out.
"Urinating in public."

Fifteen dollar fine.
Fifteen dollar court costs.

Thirty dollars
     for *******
     on my own home...






- fr
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