03.17.09
Franz Wright | Poetry

"Visiting the Library in a Strange City"

The words reappear, slowly 




developing 
on a vast unknown 
but precise number of pages 

as I enter: the great building 
empty of visitors 
except for me, reading 
the minds of the dead — 

moving with exaggerated 
and slow-motion care, 
as when assigned to lead 
the blind kid to his classroom 

forty years ago, 
down rows 
between dusty volumes, a light 
snow beginning.


Special permission has been granted by the author for Design Observer to reprint this poem online.


Posted in: Arts + Culture, Media



Comments [3]

c'mon design observer, you couldn't do better than this 'poetry'?
heather clawson
03.17.09
08:13

Thanks for this poem. It is slow and mindful. I liked it very much.
Jan
Jan Marien
03.30.09
05:22

Fans of franz wright should check out

READINGS FROM WHEELING MOTEL

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Readings-from-Wheeling-Motel/107404715027?ref=ts
Daniel Ahearn
09.08.09
12:02


Franz Wright Franz Wright’s books of poetry include The Beforelife (2001), God’s Silence (2006), and Walking to Martha’s Vineyard, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2004. He is currently working on Wheeling Motel to be published by Knopf.

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