Best Bookstore Poems

     A San Francisco Haiku Quartet



           Oh San Francisco
           Beat poets Ferlinghetti
         ...

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Sitting in the café, of my favorite bookstore,
Writing poetry for my book
I find myself staring at words, close my eyes  
And let the words just pass me by.

People walking past me, wonder what I do
I continue writing as if I knew.
They seem to think...

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Clay saucer
clay pot
potting soil
striped triangular stone
tiny green bud
tall bamboo stalk
fleshy green leaves
held in place by
patio umbrella crank
sits on latticed
black round wrought iron
table at Bart’s Books
Ojai, California,
quiet, peaceful,
so serene
till a bookstore-hating baby
screams....

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As I pass the Bookstore,
I can smell the parchment of opened books.
The colorful covers call me forth.
The stories continuously call my name.
The poetry asks me why I’m not there.
My poems chide me to hurry and sally forth.
Here my need to write attacks my soul.
As passion...

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In the bookstore; need a gift.
Choices do abound.
Spend an hour in the aisles,
Looking all around.

Hard to tell what would appeal;
The present’s for a baby.
Though his shelves are empty now,
Each book elicits “Maybe.”

So I stand there, skimming through
The shiny cardboard pages,
Wondering if this or that
Will be...

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A brown man with a full beard passes
I continue to read.

A young white man--handsome--
stops and sips at the fountain directly my left

An old women, wearing a winter coat with leopard print--wealthy looking--
hobbles by

A middle aged women--indeterminate--
walks slowly by

I catch a whiff of cigarette smoke

I say...

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If I told you I loved you would it come from a novel?
Creating fantasy on a page of unrealistic thoughts and romance.

Sometimes mere words add no reflection to what sleeps inside...

And to articulate such a memory of love in the middle of uncivilized war I...

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Paper thin 
Frail to the touch 
Time passes 
It cracks 
And rips 
Stripped of beauty 
Left with age 

Dry and worn 
Sorrow upon the fingertips 
Musty smelling  
Spine broken 
Missing pages 
Wisdom remains 
Deep within ink 
    
With each new reader...

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I met Carl Marx in a bookstore
hanging around in the classics, waiting
some casual reader's mind to seduce  
his weaver, painter, plowhorse, produce
a strange dream of worker equality
the value of labor, everyman matters, 
An oxcart teeters, ideas splatter
into his subtile, beguiling reasoning
I read on, in...

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Bookstore, Musty Galore
Allen's Old Gold Discover,
SecondStory Pages of Glory,
Kelmscott Shelves Soar & Hover,
1st Editions Scarce Recovery,
Fore Edge Paintings Lover,
However It's Cheapo Papery,
Provides a Comfy Nest Plover,
Finding Fresh Author Flesh Scary!
Going Broke Buying A Great Cover,
I'm Not Waiting 'til Old & Hairy,
Grazing Tomes is Similar to...

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I love working in a bookstore…being surrounded by the diversity of books is sweet…but I also love the diversity of the people, in the bookstore, whom I meet.

People from all across the world walk in through our front door just to browse…to say hello…or to...

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Please excuse me if occasionally I repeat myself…If these words you’ve heard before…
but if you want a true depiction of what the world is like…go inside any bookstore.

Outside a bookstore there are people under the shadow of religion and politics
pretending they want everyone to be...

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When is a bookstore not a bookstore…certainly we have books galore…
but I think that sometimes it all depends on who comes in the store.

Some people come in for the air-conditioning…some to get out of the rain
Some people only peek their heads in and quickly pull...

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I believe Karma is circle…I believe what the wise ones say is true…
If you think good thoughts, say nice things and do good things for others….
eventually good will find its way back to you.

But Karma has no timeline…we never know the date, the time…the day...when...

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Looking For Treasure
By R.e. Taylor

I want to go out
Spend the day treasure hunting
No, I don’t need no map
Don’t need no “X” marks the spot
I will find it all on my own
I want to search the backstreets
The alleyways where no one goes
Maybe find an old bookstore
Not...

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