Dances With Books

This week What Pegman Saw takes us to the library in the Peabody Institute, Baltimore. Picture above courtesy of GoogleMaps.

When I looked at this library, with all these books, I couldn’t resist writing a second story for WhatPegmanSaw this week. I hope you don’t mind, dear readers.

I think my inspiration for this story is threefold:

1. When I visited the Peabody Institute’s website I was surprised to see such a focus on music and musicality.
2. I just love libraries.
3. I was skimming through some more of my MA in Creative Writing notes from lectures and a ringed and starred sentence in my notebook about writing stories which dance with the readers caught my eye. So here we are. I hope this story dances with you, and doesn’t stand on your toes… too much!

Other contributors’ stories can be found by clicking the la’al blue froggy button below.

 

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DANCES WITH BOOKS

by

Kelvin M. Knight

Floor upon floor of books greeted him. Closing his eyes, he felt their hardness softening, felt their pages breathing. He smiled, just once, then concentrated, his eyelids half opening, half closing.

Shelf after shelf of books leapt as he wiggled his fingertips. Wall upon wall of books froze when he glared at them, only momentarily; he needed his concentration everywhere – in this alcove and that, on this floor and the next. Holding all these books up. Looking inside them. Letting them look inside him. Alcove after alcove. Wall upon wall. Floor following floor. Everything. Fitting. Inside here. He left no book unturned. He touched them all. He gave them all. Room to breath. Room to be.

This being was their gift, was their life, which they gave unconditionally to all who sat or stood, to all who would concentrate, all who could devote the time to love their imaginations free.

(150 words)