A shadowy shop with
Shelves that bend and buckle
Under the weight of years.
The dust of the decade
Lies undisturbed
Volumes lined in motley ranks
Anthologies, albums and almanacks
Heaped in
Precarious stacks.
A few flaking pamphlets.
Dream-like sepia images
Dog-eared and damp
Bulge from mildewed and
Musty manilla.
Some are excited by
The acrid smell
Of old books.
Not sure that I am.
A bargain box or a treasure chest
Who cares.
Festered and forgotten
Between the yellowing pages of
A railway timetable
Lie someone's drawings.
Quite clever.
A little deranged, if you ask me.
Nice colours
But you wouldn't want them on your wall.
Jan 15, 2010
Jan 15, 2010 at 11:16 PM UTC
A shadowy shop with
Shelves that bend and buckle
Under the weight of years.
The dust of the decade
Lies undisturbed
Volumes lined in motley ranks
Anthologies, albums and almanacks
Heaped in
Precarious stacks.
A few flaking pamphlets.
Dream-like sepia images
Dog-eared and damp
Bulge from mildewed and
Musty manilla.
Some are excited by
The acrid smell
Of old books.
Not sure that I am.
A bargain box or a treasure chest
Who cares.
Festered and forgotten
Between the yellowing pages of
A railway timetable
Lie someone's drawings.
Quite clever.
A little deranged, if you ask me.
Nice colours
But you wouldn't want them on your wall.
© Marcus Lane 2010
Eight etchings by William Blake have been acquired for the nation after the Tate Gallery raised £441,000.The etchings, depicting the artist and writer's bleak visions, were discovered inside a train timetable at a secondhand book sale. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8451803.stm)
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