The smell of books
The scent of print and paper
Some of them like the best cologne in the world
Some spanking new and clinical
Some sharp and gluey
Some sweet and elusive
Some deeply inky
Some second hand,
old, papery, leathery, musty,
earthy, damp, sour
Some impregnated with cigarette smoke
Some experienced worldy books
The ones they call dog eared, well thumbed
The ones that have lived a full, rich life
The wise old ones
that have the stains
the yellowed pages
And the strange odours to prove it
All the hands that have held them
Turned their pages
In daylight, or lamplight, or candle
All the eyes that have gazed upon their pages
Riveted, bored, entertained, comforted
All the rooms they have lived in
All the bookshelves they have marinated in
All the drawers they have got bored in
All the charity shops they have ended up in.
Things In My Head 
Wonderful poem, I miss actual books and what libraries used to be.
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Thank you Judy. Yes, I remember that you worked in a library ! It must be particularly difficult to see all the changes that have happened to them over the years.
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I worked In libraries since High School and they changed a lot. They used to be so quiet, people went there to study, resesrch and now it’s the opposite. They go there to use the computers all day long (often looking at porn) or homeless basically live there (eat food, sleep etc). Few people actually check out books anymore and it’s usually older people that do. Libraries alao became ultra liberal, threw away classic books because they weren’t “woke”.
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I go to a poetry group twice a month. The first one is held in the library and it gets so noisy, we can’t hear each other read. Sometimes we give up and go home. The second session is held in a pub, we are usually the only people there and it’s so quiet and a great environment. Who would have thought a pub would be quieter and better than a library? Everything’s gone topsy turvy!
I get my classic books from charity shops now, as they are thin on the ground in the library.
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That’s so funny! Pubs have become more peaceful than libraries :D! I feel upset with how libraries have lost what made them great before. No more shushing librarians. Great idea, I like thrift stores.
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