UNREAD

The library was the sort

Often found in old places 

Where people temporarily live 

Furnished mostly with books

Lost or left behind. Chairs

That had grown old

Waiting to be used; light

Heavy with dust. Because 

I am who I am I sometimes 

Poked around there but

Not often and never for long.

To the left as you entered 

Third shelf from the top

Was a copy of a novel

Unread since 1934. Between

Pages 54 and 55 an envelope 

With a few words on it which,

Had I found them, had I read them,

Would have changed things.