Page 35 - The Peorian Vol 3 Issue 1 Winter

35
thePeorian.com
Poetry
THE OLD LIBRARY
It was one of the few places
I preferred to go alone,
an inner sanctum of
mystery and suspense, where
the sound of my own footsteps
closed in around me and
I’d slip past the towering wooden desk,
glimpsing only the plump torso
of the woman who held
hoards of information between
two long black braids twisted in pinwheels
on either side of her head
and who, alone, judged whether or not
a laugh, or a whisper, or the
scarfing of chair legs on the marble floor
was too loud or too harsh;
and where I’d lose myself
between the stacks,
in the quiet smell
of aging pages
and leather bindings
that left a powdery residue
on my fingers
and a keen sense of adventure
in my soul.
Lois J. Funk
© 2005 Lois J. Funk
2011www.fanstory.com
Lois J. Funk was born and raised in
Pekin, IL. She has been a member of
the Peoria Poetry Club since 1989. Her
work has appeared in a wide range of
publications, and she has published five
chapter books: Mother’s Hands, 1994;
Father’s Hands, 2003; Mother’s Hands II,
2003; and Grandma’s Hands, 2005.