Pastel Dreams Poem by Debora Short

Once had a neighbor
Knock on my door
Graciously, I
Invited her in
To share
A pot of tea
She glanced over
At my
Much treasured
Collection of books
Shelved so exquisitely
From floor to ceiling
And asked if she
Could have a few
Of those old books
Stating,
She wanted to give her home
An “air of intellect”
Babbling on
With her latest
Issue of
Best Homes Magazine
In hand
With lovely
Photos accompanied
Proclaiming
Decorating with books
To be the new trend
Sitting silently
I thought of those
Lavender-ed walls and
Rose-pillowed accents
And began to Giggle
Nearly uncontrollably
As I began to realize
It was her intent cover over
Merton,
Lewis, both Clive and Sinclair,
Pearl S. Buck, Dante, Tolstoy,
Emerson, Longfellow, Melville,
Solzhenitsyn,
Hemingway, Defoe
And many more
My most favorite crew
In little dust jackets
Of pretty pale peach
And gorgeous mint greens
These dear old friends
Newly coveted in
Pastel dreams