Books
I kept the room
as it was
the polychrome spines
of books
doing all the talking
taking
the company of hardbacks
down
from the crowded shelf
I nudged a bookstop
(a solid black African head)
which fell
and smashed
there is more to life
than books
and reasons
to pass them on to others
but once
they’ve been on the shelf
there’s no shifting them