'The Librarian' by Theresa Ellsworth

​The Librarian
By: Theresa Ellsworth
 
Anyone who loves to read
Comes smiling to the library.
At the desk he stands so tall
With books to give and hearts to thaw.
 
Unsuspecting customers come
To see, to read, to have some fun
In books that have them grinning wild
They’re added calmly to the pile.
 
With blushing, red hot, sweating cheeks,
The girls are taken to the peak.
He lends the books so casually,
No thought to care, no heart to speak.
 
To them, the books are like a gift
With smooth bound spines, without a rift.
Their hearts skip with strength and joy
They place a claim upon the boy.
 
They come back, their hearts so sure
To start a love, to read, to purr.
To their grief, he pays no heed
And takes their book with no more glee.
 
They didn’t know the book was his
He only lent and couldn’t give
They feel cheated by the trick;
The librarian shrugs, no sense of guilt.
 
Edited by: Anna Grace Dulaney