My Presentation Book-Case
(W ITH Apologies TO R OSSETTI'S S ONNET : " A S UPERSCRIPTION . " )
L OOK on my shelves — the realm of Might-have-been:
And yet right glad am I they hold no knell,
Are undusk'd o'er with shadows of farewell —
But one and every book's alive with the sheen
Of Life and Art and what of each is seen.
Look on my shelves: lo, an enduring spell
To lure collectors' hopes intolerable:
Of loveliest thoughts and dreams the bookish screen.
Mark me, what dust there is! But should there dart
Along these rows the Bookman's eager eyes
Lit with a first-edition-glow surmise —
Then shalt thou see me ope, and turn apart
These frail glazed doors, and rend thy inmost heart
With many a rare unpurchasable prize.
L OOK on my shelves — the realm of Might-have-been:
And yet right glad am I they hold no knell,
Are undusk'd o'er with shadows of farewell —
But one and every book's alive with the sheen
Of Life and Art and what of each is seen.
Look on my shelves: lo, an enduring spell
To lure collectors' hopes intolerable:
Of loveliest thoughts and dreams the bookish screen.
Mark me, what dust there is! But should there dart
Along these rows the Bookman's eager eyes
Lit with a first-edition-glow surmise —
Then shalt thou see me ope, and turn apart
These frail glazed doors, and rend thy inmost heart
With many a rare unpurchasable prize.
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