"Visiting the Library in a Strange City"

The words reappear, slowly

developing

on a vast unknown

but precise number of pages

as I enter: the great building

empty of visitors

except for me, reading

the minds of the dead —

moving with exaggerated

and slow-motion care,

as when assigned to lead

the blind kid to his classroom

forty years ago,

down rows

between dusty volumes, a light

snow beginning.

Special permission has been granted by the author for Design Observer to reprint this poem online.

Comments [3]

c'mon design observer, you couldn't do better than this 'poetry'?

heather clawson
03.17.09
08:13

Thanks for this poem. It is slow and mindful. I liked it very much.
Jan

Jan Marien
03.30.09
05:22

Fans of franz wright should check out

READINGS FROM WHEELING MOTEL

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Readings-from-Wheeling-Motel/107404715027?ref=ts

Daniel Ahearn
09.08.09
12:02

Franz Wright’s books of poetry include The Beforelife (2001), God’s Silence (2006), and Walking to Martha’s Vineyard, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2004. He is currently working on Wheeling Motel to be published by Knopf.

Jobs | December 03