the old place

Splintered miniature burgundy drawers
punch cards undecipherable
inhale beyond the periodicals
papyrus scented, leather bound
most by the dead, some newly pressed
still warm to the touch

Dusted, no fingerprints
peel back the skin
smell the brittle pages
water-colored landscapes
cloaked in oil-on-canvas plots
for the ages



photo: Central Library
Manchester, U.K.
~by Robin Gosnall