Love In the Library

Love In The Library by Edmund Siejka ( East Of Seventh, poems by Edmund Siejka available on Amazon) He was a scrawny kid In 1st grade his lunch money Often disappeared By the 5th he was street wise. Mother worked in an office And Dad assembled radios in a factory on the West Side On his own most of the day He had a choice Of going to the Boy’s Club Or the library For some reason The library became his favorite place A place of books and knowledge A place of hushed voices Bespectacled librarians Hard wooden chairs Light maple rectangle wooden desks Marred by carved initials Grownups Reading Sleeping Or glancing at their watches That’s where he met Susan. She was twelve years old A year older A little taller Red hair and freckled face Aggressive Attractive And smart She asked if he would walk her home To a tall apartment house On 12th Street Bricks the color of pale mustard Leaving her by the lobby elevator He listened to its muffled sound Gliding effortlessly To a place he was never invited. In the privacy of his room He dreamed of her Incessantly Clutching his pillow tightly Making believe it was her Blood flowing Roaring sounds in his ears Dreaming that they were always together Holding hands. She, wearing a starched white shirt Carelessly unbuttoned Looking deeply into his eyes As he leaned forward to kiss Her with every passion he could muster That Spring His days were inspired With dreams of her. One rainy morning Awakened by familiar kitchen sounds He wandered in Yawning Arms folded Fighting the morning chill As a feeble day Silhouetted the rims of the fire escapes And the sea of blacktopped tenements. In the misty light Among the empty rooftops She danced in the air Her body turning Twisting Spiraling away from him A fixed smile on her face Mocking, Mocking, Mocking him.