Berry Hill Book Shop in Deansboro is the setting for this poetically romantic encounter.
by Terry Rainey, a poet of Clinton, NY
Photo taken at Berry Hill Book Shop by Sue Smith Romero
In an old barn, low-beamed and sturdy,
A man totes a weathered Robert Frost,
A woman peruses Drama and Theatre.
They nod, smile and saunter amidst the stacks.
He embraces Humor and Anthology,
She orbits Science Fiction and Satire.
Each wanders through columns of Journalism, Action
And Adventure, Romance, a bit of Mystery.
Their Math is limited and they share no common History.
Horror separates them. She floats away toward Health
Then takes a right at Travel, while he checks Children’s Lit
And explores Religion, Spirituality & New Age.
In Architecture and Art, alphabetically aisled,
He smiles when he finds Frank Lloyd Wright, and her,
Bouncing between Winslow Homer and Edward Hopper.
Both glide by Reference, all those Encyclopedias and
Dictionaries, and Thesauruses, and Almanacs.
Fantasy barely slows their path to Diaries,
Journals and Prayer Books. Perhaps their Life Studies,
Literary Criticism, their Autobiographies,
Are in need of Self Help. They linger at
Do It Yourself, find their footing, step boldly
Into Poetry, where, in a lilting moment, their
Footsteps whisper the subtle language of Dance.
If you liked this poem, you'll also like this short article about Berry Hill Book Shop.