all those books

And for today, a little bit of Nikki Giovanni:

This is my first memory:

A big room with heavy wooden tables that sat on a creaky

       wood floor

A line of green shades—bankers’ lights—down the center

Heavy oak chairs that were too low or maybe I was simply

       too short

              For me to sit in and read

So my first book was always big

In the foyer up four steps a semi-circle desk presided

To the left side the card catalogue

On the right newspapers draped over what looked like

       a quilt rack

Magazines face out from the wall

The welcoming smile of my librarian

The anticipation in my heart

All those books—another world—just waiting

At my fingertips

—Nikki Giovanni (b. 1943), "My First Memory (of Librarians)" from Acolytes, 2007. It's actually pretty weird that I've never posted this poem before, because it was my introduction to Nikki Giovanni, and I love it very much.