sara Etgen-Baker Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

image from pngtree.com

SHELF LIFE

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old shelves bow 
like old priests  
holding up confessions~ 
stories too heavy to tell  
out loud.

cracked leather
spine cracks yawn
paper lungs inhale time
the atlas breathes:
still lost?

insular worlds  
stand guard in maple frames:  
atlas of seas, botany texts, star charts. 
each shelf a compass  
pointing elsewhere.  

empty spaces where
paperbacks once huddled—  
loaned, but never returned.  
absence breathes  
louder than the stories kept.  

new oak shelves wait,  
unvarnished and expectant.  
Fill me with life, they whisper.  
she stacks poetry first—thin spines  
bearing thick truths.

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Paige Hind October 23, 2025 at 6:48 PM "cracked leather spine cracks yawn paper lungs inhale time the atlas breathes: still lost?" WOAH :)

Andrea Dietrich October 23, 2025 at 10:23 AM Excellent verse.

Paula Goldsmith October 23, 2025 at 9:55 AM What a lovely write you have here. Love It... Great Picture.. "Good Luck" If for a contest... Have a fun day writing away...............

Line Gauthier October 23, 2025 at 7:15 AM Love how you bring these bookshelves to life ~ my favourite is the final stanza "Fill me with life, they whisper. she stacks poetry first—thin spines bearing thick truths."

Rowena Velasco October 23, 2025 at 7:02 AM The imagery is so vivid... it really makes me feel the weight and the quiet hope in each space.

Valsa George October 23, 2025 at 4:52 AM Beautiful! Love the comparison of old book shelves with old priests holding up confessions too heavy to tell out loud. Also the image of new shelves expectant to be filled with new life. Great imagination Sara.