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Bryan Prince

A Poem about a Hometown Bookseller

By Kendall Defoe Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 1 min read
Bryan Prince
Photo by Henry Be on Unsplash

Note: I wrote this several years ago when Bryan Prince, Bookseller, was voted the best independent bookstore in Canada in 2001. This was a very striking idea for my sense of my hometown. I was quite proud that it was being recognized (I sold my first self-published collection of poetry there). Unfortunately, they closed in 2018 after almost thirty years in the business (there is now a store called King W. Books there).

But I have my memories...and this poem... -KD

*

I have an urge

(never to repeat again)

to rhyme "Hamilton"

with "Machiavellian".

*

I blame your books

for my curiosity:

weekdays in prose;

weekends in poetry.

*

I even gave myself

a personal assignment:

my first poetry collection

(four stocked on consignment).

*

With my surname's weight,

a link to that name,

I balanced my time;

made work without fame.

*

I have an urge

(perhaps to repeat again)

to thank you Machiavels

deep inside Hamilton.

*

By Sid Saxena on Unsplash

*

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About the Creator

Kendall Defoe

Teacher, reader, writer, dreamer... I am a college instructor who cannot stop letting his thoughts end up on the page. No AI. No Fake Work. It's all me...

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Comments (3)

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  • Rob Angeli3 years ago

    Great work!

  • Delightful. Thanks for sharing this with us. Sorry about the store's closing.

  • This was a beautiful tribute!

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