Online Poetry Book Novels & Stories

I make my way through the aisles, my fingers trailing along the spines of books, until I reach the poetry section. I don't know why I'm drawn here. I just am. My body moves like it knows something my brain doesn't. I walk through the poetry section, line by line, shelf by shelf, until I stop. My hand freezes mid-reach. 'Pablo Neruda.' A whole row of his work, lined up neatly, my fingers pause over one book in particular. 'Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair.' I pull it off the shelf slowly, like it might bite me. The cover is worn, soft under my fingers, like someone's held this book a lot and loved it.

It fades into the background even, as we look at each other, laughing. Zane Orion POV: I know she is watching me nervously as I read her collection of three poems published by an online literary magazine called Raven. It is for their summer publication. Alex wrote three poems that captured the spirit of summer through the point of view of a fifteen year old both dreading and yearning to resume senior high-school. The three poems follows a centre theme and the last one kind of leaves the imagined protagonist in the middle of their conflicting feelings.

At noon, I stepped out to pick up lunch and found a box waiting at the front desk. No label. Just a cream envelope sealed with a silver-inked monogram: A. My pulse jumped. I tucked it under my arm and didn’t open it until I was safely behind the privacy of my office door. Inside was a thin volume of poetry—an old edition, pages slightly yellowed, the cover worn with love. Pressed inside the front flap was a folded card, handwritten in that familiar, controlled script. Layla, I came across this in a tucked-away shop. It reminded me of your voice—how you write with ache, but leave room for light.

"Show me. Show me who you are when you're not being perfect. When you're not trying to prove anything. Just you." He's quiet for a long moment. Then he pulls away. Goes back to the chair. Picks up the book again. "Sit," he says. I sit. He opens the book. Finds a page. Starts reading. His voice changes. Softens. Like the words mean something. Like they're important. It's poetry. Old. Beautiful. About wolves and moonlight and bonds that transcend death. I close my eyes. Let his voice wash over me. Let myself just feel.

It wasn't until she noticed the strange book tucked away in the corner that she was able to distract herself from her thoughts. "I almost missed one," she whispered. As she walked over to it, she noticed that its cover was worn, and it seemed to emit a faint glow that caught her attention. Maybe it's how the moon perfectly acted as its own spotlight that made it seem so glowy, but it's not just that. She somehow felt a little hint of amusement as she stared at it. As she approached the book, she saw the shinny title written on it, Lunaria, and she couldn't help but be intrigued. The moonlight shining down on the pages illuminated the words in a way that made them seem to come alive.

I said, grabbing the book off of the shelf and showing Kai proudly. That was a bit easier than I thought it would be. That was at least reassuring. He took the book from me and flipped through it, confusion lining his features. “Our next clue is a book of poetry?” “Yes. No, not exactly,” I said, biting my lip and flipping the book open until I got to the right poem. “This is a book of poems from the infamous Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. My favorite poem is this one.” I showed him. I was not huge on poetry, but Rilke was a complete genius with his words, and I would be an idiot to ignore that genius.

They open the new submissions, journals, sketches, coded dreams, solar poems, sky-written vows. They place them inside. Then they bow their heads. Not in grief. But in reverence. Because they know: The fire is not in the pages. It is in the choice to write them. So I keep burning. Through drought and war. Through joy and birth. Through quiet revolutions that look like hugs, and wild ones that sound like protests. Every time someone chooses compassion over control… I spark. Every time a young girl dares to say, “I have something to say”…

Most were about history, leadership, strategy. But there were a few that surprised me. Poetry. Classic literature. A worn copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. I smiled despite everything. Xavier reading poetry felt… unexpected. I pulled the poetry book out. Flipped through it. Some pages were dog-eared. Lines underlined. “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” My throat tightened. I put the book back so fast you would think it burned me. Then I moved to his desk.

Part of me wants to flee this exchange, the other feels strangely drawn to his presence. — Does she have a favorite genre? Poetry? Old novels? He frowns slightly. — She loved poetry, once… before the illness stole a bit of herself from her. But I think she would appreciate a book that reminds her of her youth. Something that makes her feel like she still exists. These words strike me unexpectedly. I understand this pain, this need to cling to what remains. — I might have what you need… follow me. I lead him to the back shelves, where the books no one comes looking for anymore lie dormant. I pull out a bound collection of Ronsard, with a worn leather cover, gilt-edged pages.

He pulled out a small, leather-bound notebook, worn with age. He handed it to her without a word. She opened it. The pages were filled with handwriting, his, she realized. Neat, precise, but with a fluidity that spoke of passion held in check. Poems. Dozens of them. About light on water. About the curve of a woman’s neck. About the sound of rain on a tin roof. About grief that felt like drowning. About love that felt like coming up for air. She looked up at him, her throat tight. “You never stopped.”