Classic and Contemporary Poetry
OLD BOOKS IN HEAVEN, by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS Poet's Biography First Line: Heaven would lose its heavenly looks Last Line: Beneath my arm! Subject(s): Books; Heaven; Reading; Paradise | ||||||||
Heaven would lose its heavenly looks Had heaven no books; And even there, I firmly hold, They must grow old, To range along the jasper walls In old book-stalls. And heaven must have some money, too, -- Small change will do, -- For what so perfect paradise As when one buys A Boswell, say, a tome immense For fifteen cents? I hope they'll not consign to hell That musty smell, Dear token of the cobwebbed nooks Crammed with old books. 'Tis honored far above the rose By many a nose. The streets of gold, I hope and trust, Have some slight dust; Old books would wear an awkward mien Were they too clean, Unsprinkled with the symbol sage Of hoary age. And finally, my prayer is bold, That heaven will hold Some wrapping paper and some twine, And be it mine To carry home the bulky charm Beneath my arm! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE END OF LIFE by PHILIP JAMES BAILEY SEVEN TWILIGHTS: 6 by CONRAD AIKEN THE BOOK OF THE DEAD MAN (#19): 2. MORE ABOUT THE DEAD MAN AND WINTER by MARVIN BELL THE WORLDS IN THIS WORLD by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR A SKELETON FOR MR. PAUL IN PARADISE; AFTER ALLAN GUISINGER by NORMAN DUBIE BEAUTY & RESTRAINT by DANIEL HALPERN HOW IT WILL HAPPEN, WHEN by DORIANNE LAUX IF THIS IS PARADISE by DORIANNE LAUX A BATTLE SONG (WRITTEN IN THE WORLD WAR) by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS |
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