In a Library. Emily Dickinson

Este poema pertenece a la autora estadounidense Emily Dickinson (Amherst, Massachussets 1830 - 1886) cuya ingente y magnífica obra fue publicada en su totalidad tras su muerte.

In a Library
A precious, mouldering pleasure 't is
To meet an antique book,
In just the dress his century wore;
A privilege, I think,

His venerable hand to take,
And warning in our own,
A passage back, or two to make
To times when he was young.

His quaint opinions to inspect,
His knowledge to unfold
On what concerns our mutual mind,
The literature of old;

What interested scholars most,
What competitions ran
When Plato was a certainty.
And Sophocles a man;
When Sappho was a living girl,
And Betarice wore
The gown that Dante deified.
Facts, centuries before,

He traverses familiar,
As one should come to town
And tell you and all your dreams were true;

His presence is enchantment,
You beg him not to go;
Old volumes shake their vellum heads
And tantalize, just so.

(Imagen:Emilidickinsonmuseum.org)