Devoted to small businesses and those who run them

I Aspire

Ó 1995 Rosemary O'Brien

Used by Permission.

'Saw Sweet Baby James on an am show this morning. 

His eyes twinkled

at the love the crowd radiated as he

scanned their eager faces;

eager to hear him sing. 

He reminisced about Carolina as he

stood on the stage

in the middle of Rockefeller Center . 

As I watched,

I wondered. 

Would I ever evoke that kind of love for my words? 

Would passers-by stop as they

came upon my book jacket

in the window of some Barnes and Noble?

Or

would they pass on by? 

Would I ever make someone

late for an appointment

because they had to read

just one more paragraph? 

Or

would they struggle through the first few chapters,

or even halfway,

then close the cover -

their expectations of a good story

unfulfilled?

Or

would they finish my book with a sigh

before placing it on the top shelf of their bookcase - 

the shelf reserved for the cherished books,

the books to be saved - 

for the day they would take it down

to read again,

or

maybe to pass on to a friend with a heartfelt

"You have to read this!" as they slide it across a table?

 I wondered as I watched the crowd

hold up signs saying "Thank you, James,"

as they gathered

on that early morning

to hear a poet sing.