I wonder if I dare to place you here Upon my bookshelf, intimate and dear? You may be worthy to stand side by side With well-read books whose crumbling bindings hide The penciled markings that, on many a page, Point out some pithy saying, some adage That interested me so much that I Made penciled marks beside it, passing by. You may, my new friend, be a great asset To these old comrades, but I cannot yet Decide to place you on this well-loved shelf Of tried old friends: you, too, must prove yourself. You, too, must bring me knowledge and delight If, in the quiet hours of waning night, I am to reach expectantly for you— Your message must be confident and true. These other books that stand here on my shelf Have grown to be part of my very self I cannot place you with them until you Can prove your worth and right to be there, too. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A MAN'S VOCATION IS NOBODY'S BUSINESS by JAMES GALVIN HOW THEY GO ON by JAMES GALVIN GOAL by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE RING AND THE CASTLE by AMY LOWELL DOMESDAY BOOK: DOMESDAY BOOK by EDGAR LEE MASTERS DOMESDAY BOOK: ELENOR MURRAY by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: SHACK DYE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |