Home » Poems » Caren Krutsinger » And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None

Something is going on in the crime novel section.
I hear slamming and shrieking and then silence.
Mr. Pine had been the last patron of the evening.
He had left fifteen minutes ago; I was alone now.

For twenty-two years I have been the head librarian.
Nothing has spooked me before, but tonight I felt fright.
The noises had not been terrifying, but the light feels ominous.
It is coming from the section I just shut down.

There is usually no light after I flip the switches.
The glow was getting brighter. I took my purse and advanced.
Had a patron fallen? Was the light her cell phone?
As I reached the doorway to the crime novels, the light went out.

Bam! Something fell onto the floor. I felt suddenly chilled.
As if the temperature had dropped about twenty degrees.
Whoosh! I smelled lilac.
My heart is beating double time.

I felt compelled to feel around to see what had dropped.
It was Agatha Christie’s novel “And Then There Were None.”
A favorite of mine since childhood. I took it home with me.
The library was weird tonight I told my husband.

He started telling me how wild the dogs had been acting.
Our teenage daughter came home from college unexpectedly.
She had been assigned to read “And Then There Were None”
But the library at her school had run out of copies.

I opened up my backpack and handed her the book.
She said, “Thanks Great Grandma; I appreciate you.”
I then realized I had been smelling lilacs. My grandmother’s cologne.
She had been extremely close to my daughter.

What did you do? I asked my daughter.
I asked Great Grandma to make you bring home that book.”
Next time can’t you just call me? I asked, feeling spooked.
You don’t answer the phone at work; so, I had no choice.

This is the crux of having a psychic daughter
Who was a favorite of a spiritual grandmother.
I always think I can get used to this, but I never do.
I have no guess what caused the light.

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.