The Bookseller

While my companion prowls the alcoves I listen to the old man’s stories...

Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi on Unsplash

The Bookseller

We open the door and enter
a shadowy house where bookshelves
buttress the walls to the ceiling.

A dim light through stained-glass
illuminates the archway
leading to the kitchen.
Beside it sits the bookseller
slumped over his walker.

He lifts his head
embarrassed to be caught
napping.

While my companion
prowls the alcoves
I listen to the old man’s stories.
How he drove a taxi
for movie stars in Reno
Marilyn Monroe
Clark Gable
just months before they died.

John Wayne stayed at the Ormsby
while portraying a shootist
dying of cancer.
Every day the bookseller drove him
to the set and back.
The actor was too sick
for parties and bars.

The man's hands drape
over the walker’s rail,
rotating with each tale,
his memories dusty
like his books.

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You can read more from Sue Cauhape on her page, “Ring Around the Basin”:

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