The Great Library Uproar

I reached the library at twelve on the dot

and sat down to read in my usual spot.

Pulling out the novel I’d brought,

alongside my iced coffee with a double shot.

There was something magical about the quiet.

After all, silence was the modern day riot.

I could hear the sound of a turning page

and white noise that was hard to gauge,

along with the distant humming

of people going and coming.

And then a noise to ruin my calm-

almost as loud as an exploding bomb:

It was a page of paper being ripped.

I saw the textbook that must have slipped

from your hand to the floor,

but that wasn’t the part I couldn't ignore.

You bent down, then looked around,

wondering if anyone had heard the sound.

But even as you frowned,

I was simply spellbound!

You were handsome from across the room,

and I felt my heart go ba-boom!

Could it be new love in bloom?

But i didn’t want to assume

that you’d feel a similar way.

Although, I hoped that you may,

even if it was kind of cliche

to think I’d find love outside the gateway

of the dating app human buffet

without having seen your online dossier…

We locked eyes and I was beguiled

as you smiled, my brain compiled

the dozens of ways in which it was wild

that in the blink of an eye,

I could picture you as my guy.

But I watched as you picked up your stuff

and sure enough

you had ripped the page clean out!

So with a shrug and a dramatic pout,

you held up a single page with a graph,

and I tried-but failed-to stifle my laugh.

A man quickly whispered, “Hush.”

leaning over his pile of slush.

He was occupying the entire table,

seemingly with volumes of every fable.

A takeover similar to Napoleon Bonaparte,

he became our small, angry counterpart.

The smallest disturbance might make him spring-

the library emperor or wannabe king.

In this game of chess, you were the rook

I wanted to castle for a better outlook.

Alas, in order to avoid the man’s rages,

we quietly returned to our pages.

But I couldn’t help but take another look,

at the dapper page tearing crook.

You distracted me from the context of my book,

every word became Gobbledygook.

As I reread the same sentence multiple times-

never advancing along with the clock chimes-

likely karma for dishonoring the library paradigms.

A punishment for our noisy crimes.

But I was somehow taken by you.

With eyes that were gray blue

like the morning dew-an intoxicating hue.

Eyes that kept peeking back at me too.

Was this something to pursue?

Upon further review,

you seemed tired of playing peekaboo,

and made it time to rendezvous.

As you made the switcheroo

to my table where

you sat down in a chair

and I swear

I couldn’t help but stare

as you sat there.

I was trapped in your snare,

because it felt so rare

to think or to dare

that a stranger may complete my pair.

The little old man continued to glare.

Like he thought we might bare

our souls out loud,

despite the crowd

of people bowed-

their heads in a cloud-

of fiction’s allure.

But my intentions were pure.

I’d come for work, not play.

But then you said, “Hey”.

And It wasn’t quite a bouquet,

though it made my heart sway.

It was followed again by, “Hush.”

And I couldn’t help but blush,

at my newfound crush-

our hands close enough to brush.

I was feeling quite flush,

but unable to gush

about how you made my heart flutter,

and all the other things I couldn’t utter.

Even in a place filled with noisy clutter

I’d only be able to stutter.

Because you stole my heart

when we were far apart.

Surpassing my usual rampart.

With the chart you’d ripped out a la carte.

Another giggle to subdue,

followed by an annoying dose of Deja vu:

the man’s shushing proved to ensue.

As if we’d blown a kazoo or screamed “Achoo!”

Turning a whisper into hullabaloo.

Policing us outside of his purview.

Let’s start a Coup!

We’ll go on your Cue!

It was only a mental note,

But you somehow grabbed your coat

and motioned for the door,

As if you’d heard me implore.

I’d never found reading to be a chore,

but with you there it felt like a bore.

I knew there was something more

that i needed to explore.

Worth inciting a cold war-

The Great Library Uproar

in order to be with you, evermore.