Poet: Emily Dickinson
Not in this world to see his face
Sounds long, until I read the place
Where this is said to be
But just the primer to a life
Unopened, rare, upon the shelf,
Clasped yet to him and me.
And yet, my primer suits me so
I would not choose a book to know
Than that, be sweeter wise;
Might some one else so learned be,
And leave me just my A B C,
Himself could have the skies.
The poem, Good Books by Edgar A. Guest, praises the value of good books as friendly companions. It points out that books are patient and understanding; they don't demand your attention or interrupt your activities. They offer solace during lonely moments and provide a genuine fellowship. They don't judge or gossip about your faults. If you want their company, you can simply pick them up and read. Books offer advice and entertainment, making them reliable friends for both day and night.
Poet: Edgar A. Guest
Good books are friendly things to own.
If you are busy they will wait.
They will not call you on the phone
Or wake you if the hour is late.
They stand together row by row,
Upon the low shelf or the high.
But if you're lonesome this you know:
You have a friend or two nearby.
The fellowship of books is real.
They're never noisy when you're still.
They won't disturb you at your meal.
They'll comfort you when you are ill.
The lonesome hours they'll always share.
When slighted they will not complain.
And though for them you've ceased to care
Your constant friends they'll still remain.
Good books your faults will never see
Or tell about them round the town.
If you would have their company
You merely have to take them down.
They'll help you pass the time away,
They'll counsel give if that you need.
He has true friends for night and day
Who has a few good books to read.
Poems About Books
The poem, Happy Chimney Corner Day by the famous poet Robert Louis Stevenson, describes the changing seasons from summer to winter and the joy of reading picture story-books. In summer, there is warmth and flowing water, but as winter arrives, the landscape turns frosty. Despite the cold, the picture story-books transport the reader to different worlds. Readers through words and pictures allow them to explore places. During the winter sitting by the chimney books can take us to another place.
Poet: Robert Louis Stevenson
Summer fading, winter comes –
Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs
Window robins, winter rooks,
And the picture story-books.
Water now is turned to stone
Nurse and I can walk upon;
Still we find the flowing brooks
In the picture story-books.
All the pretty things put by,
Wait upon the children’s eye,
Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks,
In the picture story-books.
We may see how all things are,
Seas and cities, near and far,
And the flying fairies’ looks,
In the picture story-books.
How am I to sing your praise,
Happy chimney-corner days,
Sitting safe in nursery nooks,
Reading picture story-books.
Famous poet, Althea Randolph in her poem Picture-Books Travels demonstrates the magic of story-book pictures through your imagination. You can sail on the ocean, travel in a fast train to foreign lands, dig on the beach, soar in a balloon, and visit places like the park and the zoo, all within the pages of a book.
Poet: Althea Randolph
Oh, story-book pictures are wonderful things,
They keep you quite busy all day;
For first you can go on the ocean of blue
In a boat, and sail far, far away!
Then next you can travel so fast in a train
You soon reach a strange foreign land;
And again you can dig with your shovel and pail
Beside the sea- waves on the sand!
Now over a page you will find a balloon.
Which takes you way up toward the sky;
The trees, and the birds, the white clouds, and the Moon,
How quickly you pass them all by!
You stroll in the Park and you visit the Zoo,
And see the queer animals there;
Or back in the orchard with picture-book friends,
You swing to and fro through the air!
You frolic and romp in the sunshine and snow;
You play all day long in the rain;
And when you have come to the end of the book,
You start it all over again!
Funny Poems About Books
Poet: William Wordsworth
Books are yours.
Within whose silent chambers treasure lies
Preserved from age to age ; more precious far
Than that accumulated store of gold
And orient gems which, for a day of need,
The sultan hides deep in ancestral tombs.
These hoards of truth you can unlock at will.
In the poem "When You Are Old" by William Butler Yeats, the poet addresses someone who is getting older and more tired. He suggests that in those moments of old age, the person should take down a book and read it. While reading, they should remember how their eyes used to look when they were young and full of life.
Poet: William Butler Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
