the story begins anew

Too old for crinkled pages
Too adult for worn-out spines
Not a classic for the ages
Not a hallmark of the times

Too complex for simple plots
Too sophisticated
Happy endings? I think not—
Too cynical and jaded

No black and white when gray is all1
No hero’s horn has sounded
No elements fantastical
When life’s so firmly grounded

So put away these childish things
Or sell, donate, or throw
For there’s no place for queens and kings
We gave up long ago
 

But open the well-worn volume now
I dare you to stay true
For no one could ever wonder how
As the story begins anew.

I’m the kind of person who occasionally picks up his childhood books to re-read in bed at night. I hope you are too.

Part of Poem-a-Day 2013. Title donated by Nadine S.

  1. I would have named them shades of gray, but (twoscore-ten) those are okay, despite the lack of plot or myth or characters to identify with. ↩︎

This entry was posted on September 17, 2013 and is filed under Creativity. Tags: Poetry, Literature, Poem-a-day 2013