Books strewn around the floor
individually, in twos and threes,
some opened, as if sharing
stories with one another,
some closed, dozing off
in the slant afternoon light
of the fourth floor walk up,
once a tenement filled with
recently arrived languages,
the words shared hope
for better, safer times
to make a life just like
the reader of these books
strewn around the floor
of the fourth floor walk up.