Typo Poem

I am seriously galling asleep.

—Ghafir Akbar (a typo in an email, written from the library,
in lieu of the work he was underpaid to do)

The nerve: to give your mind a recess
in the middle of shelving books.
A slip of the fingers that surprising
must always be shelved where it belongs,
in this case, under ‘A’—

Akbar, Ghafir: Galling asleep;
an unintentional keystroke
that combined gumption with rest.
How delightful. Sleep,
a revolutionary act.

He stands still, his fingers
following dewey decimals,
his mind kicking and sighing
in its hammock, and then

books become birds,
they scatter, fly, circle
unsuspecting patrons,
silently flapping their many
heavy wings, spreading dust,
an enormous warm breath
no one notices. Ghafir stands,
watches the beautiful mess.
The world retreats because
he wills it to. The fingers
on his left hand keep
shelving as his right
drinks a glass
of blue
milk.

copyright 2007 Allison Shoemaker
bio
Barnwood magazine
Contents 07