PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

 I am 70 years old…I spent a good deal of my life teaching students with Autism

I like to think I’m as enlightened as I can be…

I work in a bookstore for goodness sake…

if anyone knows not to judge a book by its cover…that anyone should be me!

On the walks I take each morning it’s rare for me to see

another person on the street who gets up as early as me.

But the other morning as I turned downtown..up ahead of me…not too far away

I saw a large figure looking in a window…and I was heading his way.

He was wearing a black trench coat that stretched down to his feet.

Did I mention he was large…and tall…this person I was destined to meet?

As I got closer I realized he was looking in the window of my bookstore.

and how in the time it took to reach him…he seemed even larger than before.

He looked at me and smiled…then said, “I love bookstores…don’t you?”

“They’re filled with knowledge…different stories and different points of view.”

I exhaled (I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath) and said,

“I totally agree with you…

and believe it or not,” I smiled back,“I work in this bookstore too!”

We talked about authors he liked…

from Kurt Vonnegut, to Alexander Dumas to Ernest Hemingway…

and after spending a few moments together…we went on our separate ways.

As he walked away I called to him and when he turned his head…

I said, “Come back Friday night when I’m working…

maybe we’ll find a book you haven’t read.”

When I first saw him from a distance I immediately judged him on his looks…

which is never very smart…

because, once again, I learned you can’t always tell form the outside…

what someone is thinking…what’s inside a person’s heart.

As I headed home I realized I was not as enlightened as I thought I was

and I wondered if he’ll come back Friday…

I sure hope he does.