Writers’ Weir: Gone Out of Business

Published 6:43 pm Thursday, March 9, 2017

For Dee

The empty bookstore still

smells of dust, frail paper,

and stubborn ink. But,

Ancient Men of the Arctic

no longer subsist on aisle three

Where Bright Waters Meet

and A River Never Sleeps.

With the bookstore closed

who will guide our children

through A Series of Unfortunate Events

introduce them to White Fang,

The Little Princess, or recommend

Are You There God?

It’s Me, Margaret.

Where can I go when the streets are wet

to find Billy Collins joking

with Mary Oliver and Sandburg, recline

against a dusty bookshelf

holding Hemingway

or Forester if there’s a storm?

Dan Branch lives and writes in Juneau. He is a member of the Burn Thompson writers’ group and 49 Writers.