Each book, however loved, must have an end,
And then I find, I need another one.
Throughout my life I’ve always read for fun
The library has been my constant friend.
When I first ventured in at twelve, I found
Free shelves of books all begging to be read
Arranged conveniently from A to Z
In good condition, new and old, hard-bound.
Much that I loved, I later came to own.
But library reading left me free to chance
The book that looks good to the moment’s glance
Plus all the joys of inter-library loan.
Right there on shelves, or brought from near and far,
A library is all the books there are.
(For Carl Rigney and the John M. Ford Memorial Endowment) 22nd October 2006
