Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A BOOK, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I'm a strange contradiction; I'm new and I'm old
Last Line: And no monarch alive has so many pages.
Variant Title(s): A Riddle (a Book)
Subject(s): Books; Reading


I'M a strange contradiction; I'm new, and I'm old,
I'm often in tatters, and oft decked with gold,
Though I never could read, yet lettered I'm found;
Though blind, I enlighten; though loose, I am bound,
I'm always in black, and I'm always in white
I'm grave and I'm gay, I am heavy and light --
In form too I differ, -- I'm thick and I'm thin
I've no flesh and no bones, yet I'm covered with skin;
I've more points than the compass, more stops than the flute;
I sing without voice, without speaking confute.
I'm English, I'm German, I'm French, and I'm Dutch.
Some love me too fondly, some slight me too much;
I often die soon, though I sometimes live ages,
And no monarch alive has so many pages.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net