LIBRARY SHIP

The public library In Riverside Illinois
Perched above the river
Like a captain's tower
The maps and manuals
To aid navigation
Are 3000 BC
Mediterranean poems
Nights of lust and wine
Lassitude mornings
Lying in bed
The old poet divines
A line that runs
From the sky
To the cloud
To the rain
To the soil
To the vine
To the grape
To the barrel
To the cup
To the gullet
To the brain
To the dream
To the pen
To the parchment
To the book
to the library
to the shelf
To my hands
To my mind