MY PRETTY LIBRARY VIS A VIS.
I.
Across the table meekly sat—
I could not, would not choose but see—
With charms a monk might wonder at,
My pretty library vis a vis!
II.
I tried in vain to turn the page—
Romance and rhyme had lost their spell;
When mind and heart a warfare wage
The victory is not hard to tell.
III.
O sixteen summered rosy lass,
I came to read the hour away;
But not a sentence could I pass,
Save in a make believing way.
IV.
For glancing up from time to time
Filled me with tremors and surprise;
The heroines of tales and rhyme
Vanished before those dazzling eyes!
V.
I wonder if she archly knew
How fast I grew illiterate;
And when she looked off, listless, too,
Was it for pity of my fate?
VI.
The hour went by. She would not leave
I tried to seem absorbed and wise.
To glance at her was to receive
Quick notice from her answering eyes.
VII.
O bookish nymph, say, was it fair
To capture so my holiday?
Before your beauty who would dare
To turn a leaf, or go away?
VIII.
But on the morrow when I went
To make amends, whom should I see
Face me again? (O time misspent!)
My pretty library vis a vis!
Joel Benton.