[Jim Ramsey]

version 4 (which tries to smooth the syntax of S1L4 and S2L4 after receiving Simon's, David's, and Jayne's comments on syntax}

In Front of Me

A hidden cave, an open gate
a wall to climb, a path sublime…
all while I looked among those books,
I fingered spines and cocked my head
and lingered long on those I'd read.

And, here, I browsed, and, there, I paused,
but journeyed then within my head
to choose instead to give a look
to time now gone, and think then of
what things I loved the most when young:

A baseball game, a faithful friend,
some famous name, a hero praised,
a football great, a movie star,
a dollar bill, some distant hill,
a cool night breeze, or girl to please.

I thought a while, then, with a smile,
I knew what I was looking for
while searching more through mind and time
to find the things once loved the most—
it was the books, O yes! the Books!

newest edit 3-19-25 pluralize "thing" throughout

version 3

In Front of Me

A hidden cave, an open gate
a wall to climb, a path sublime…
all while I looked among those books,
I fingered spines and cocked my head
and lingered where were ones once read.

And, here, I browsed, and, there, I paused,
but journeyed then within my head
to choose instead to give a look
to time now gone, and think then of
what most I loved when I was young:

A baseball game, a faithful friend,
some famous name, a hero praised,
a football great, a movie star,
a dollar bill, some distant hill,
a cool night breeze, or girl to please.

I thought a while, then, with a smile,
I knew what I was looking for
while searching more through mind and time
to find the thing once loved the most—
it was the books, O yes! the Books!


version 2

In Front of Me

All while I looked
among the books,
I fingered spines
and cocked my head
and lingered where
were those once read.
I paused now here,
I paused then there,
but ended up
within my head
to look instead
at times now gone,
soon thinking of
what most I loved
when I was young:
a baseball game,
a faithful friend,
some famous name,
a cool night breeze,
or girl to please.
I thought a while.
Then, with a smile,
I knew what I
was looking for
while searching more
through mind and time
to find the thing
once loved the most—
and it was books.


version 1

In Front of Me

The while I looked
among the books,
I fingered spines
and cocked my head
and lingered where
sat ones once read.
I tarried here,
I tarried there,
but ended up
within my head
to choose instead
to give a look
to time now gone,
and think then of
what most I loved
when I was young:
a baseball game,
a faithful friend,
some famous name,
a cool night breeze,
or girl to tease.
I thought a while.
Then, with a smile,
I knew what I
was looking for
while searching more
through mind and time
to find the thing
once loved the most—
and it was books.