Poem for Display in a Public Library

Posted on May 27, 2008 by Dave Bonta
This entry is part 5 of 15 in the series Public Poems

To enter fully into another’s words
is to leave your own fixed residence,
part coffin, part cocoon.
The walls fall away.
Letters the color of night
swell with sirens & the call
of the whip-poor-will.
Out in the open book,
anything can happen except sleep.
Dreams may be redeemed
for a small deposit.
This is why, in the public library,
everyone is homeless.

Series Navigation← Poem for Display in a Veterans’ Memorial ParkPoem for Display in a Hospital Waiting Room →

About Dave Bonta

Dave Bonta (bio) crowd-sources his problems by following his gut, which he shares with one quadrillion of his closest microbial friends --- a tight-knit, symbiotic community comprising some 500 different species of bacteria, fungi, and protozoa.
This entry was posted in Poems & poem-like things. Bookmark the permalink.

9 Responses to Poem for Display in a Public Library

  1. dale says:
    May 27, 2008 at 10:32 am

    I’ve got to take this in to the office :->

  2. lissa says:
    May 27, 2008 at 1:29 pm

    what a clever poem. i really like the feel of this — the type of poem i would revisit often.

  3. beth says:
    May 27, 2008 at 3:16 pm

    Terrific series, Dave. I hope you’ll print them out on small piece of paper and put them up anonymously, your next visit to a public place…or encourage us to do it.

  4. Dave says:
    May 27, 2008 at 4:04 pm

    dale – Be my guest!

    lissa – Thanks… and thanks for visiting. I enjoyed checking out your blog just now.

    beth – For me, it’s enough just to have thought about it, but if someone wants to try and actually sneak these into public places, I’d be honored. (Take pictures!)

  5. Lee's River says:
    May 28, 2008 at 12:41 am

    Love this. thank you.

  6. Dave says:
    May 28, 2008 at 8:43 am

    Thanks for reading.

  7. mb says:
    May 28, 2008 at 6:53 pm

    I especially like the fanciful nature of this. How appropriate for a library of paper dreams, windows and doors!

  8. patricia ternahan says:
    January 27, 2010 at 4:20 pm

    How did I miss this wonderful poem when it was posted?
    I hope you will do a book of poems about books, reading, and libraries of course….
    Looking forward to getting my copy of Odes To Tools….
    Thank you for all you do!