Betaal

In looking at the books I’ve read,
I only see the books I’ve not.

Too busy, lazy, crazy, sick
To pick the ones that challenge most:
The classics, histories, long and thick
To whom my shelf plays patient host.
A new year comes; it’s time to pick
A conversation with the ghost
Demanding silence – what a trick –
And then demanding my riposte.

But whether I am wrong or right,
The big books always blow my mind.