Poem About A Book Novels & Stories

It no longer felt like hiding; it felt like breathing. She met him at a small independent bookstore in Al Quoz—a converted warehouse with high ceilings, exposed brick, shelves that reached toward skylights. She was in the poetry section, running her fingers along spines of Warsan Shire and Safia Elhillo, when a voice—low, calm, slightly accented—came from the aisle behind her. “You read her like someone who’s lived every line.” She turned.

Neither of us pulled away immediately. We talked for over an hour about nothing and everything. He asked about the book I’d been reading earlier, and I told him how the heroine’s slow reclaiming of her strength had stayed with me. He listened like it mattered, nodding, then mentioned a volume of poetry he’d found here years ago. His voice grew quieter as he described the way certain lines had kept him company during long nights. I watched the way his shoulders relaxed, the way the ever-present tension in his jaw eased.

I pulled one out at random, a collection of poetry, and began to read. I sat on the couch, surrounded by the silence of the beach house, lost in the words of the poetry book. The verses spoke of love, loss, and longing. I felt a pang in my chest as I read, recognizing the emotions that had been swirling inside me. The poet's words were like a mirror, reflecting my own thoughts and feelings back at me.

His smile could light up the entire library. He settles into the leather wingback, my favourite chair, the one I curl up in when I want to feel held, and opens his book. I catch a glimpse of the cover. Pablo Neruda. Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair. “Why are you reading that?” He looks up at me. “What?” I clear my throat. What the fuck are you doing Vanessa? I adjust the collar of my shirt. “Neruda. Why are you reading it?”

The poetry collection — the Bronx poet, from the Court Street bookstore, the one I had told him to buy on a rainy Saturday in October that felt like a year ago. "I finished it," he said. I looked at it. Then at him. "And?" I said. "You were right." He held my gaze. "She writes about the city the way it actually feels." He paused. "There's a poem in the middle. Page forty-seven." Something warm moved through his expression. "Read it." He left. I picked up the book. Turned to page forty-seven.

I close the door quietly. I spend an hour in the smaller library looking at the books. He has everything. Fiction. Nonfiction. Art books. History. A whole shelf of poetry that looks like it has never been touched. I pull out a volume of Mary Oliver and flip through it. Someone has dog-eared a page. I read the poem. "Wild Geese." I read it twice.

"What is this?" She picked up the note and started to read it slowly. "When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face; And bending down beside the glowing bars,

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.

This book was more than just a mere collection of words on paper - it was a treasure trove of knowledge, a gateway to a world beyond our own. As I read on, the moon cast its pale light across the room, bathing everything in an eerie glow. I lost track of time, lost in the secrets that lay before me. Every line I read seemed to unlock a new mystery, a new revelation. The more I read, the more my curiosity grew, until I was completely consumed by the book's power.

"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.