Ever walked into the library, with the books piled on high all around you? And breathing in the dust they sit, and feeling so alive in it?

For me, choosing a book to borrow (literature, that is - not any other) from the library is like a journey. I am on a journey that knows no destination, but I delight in looking at the sceneries it gives for my senses to feast on.

And today, I found a really good poetry book. More like, it found me – I think. It is ‘Shadowed Dreams: Women’s Poetry of the Harlem Renaissance’ which was edited by Maureen Honey. I feel like sharing two poems from the collection.

I Weep
by Angelina Weld Grimké

- I weep –
Not as the young do noisily,
Not as the aged rustily,
But quietly.
Drop by drop, the great tears
Splash upon my hands,
And save you saw them shine,
You would not know
I wept.


And here’s another one about love.


I Want to Die While You Love Me
by Georgia Douglas Johnson

 I want to die while you love me,
While yet you hold me fair,
While laughter lies upon my lips,
And lights are in my hair.

I want to die while you love me,
And bear to that still bed
Your kisses turbulent, unspent,
To warm me when I’m dead.

I want to die while you love me,
Oh, who would care to live
Till love has nothing more to ask
And nothing more to give?

I want to die while you love me,
And never, never see
The glory of this perfect day
Grow dim or cease to be!