Worm in the Bookshop by Ali Znaidi

Worm in the Bookshop

(after “Witch in the Supermarket” by Angela Topping)

There’s a worm in the bookshop over there.

She is creeping up the books searching for a lair.

She likes to hide because she doesn’t like to be used as a bait.

She is always hiding. That’s her inevitable fate.

There’s a worm in the bookshop down the street.

She is very cautious not to be trodden by the clients’ feet.

She is climbing the bookshelves searching for a refuge.

She is very astounded with all those books – tiny or huge.

There’s a worm in the bookshop next to the pub.

She is searching in the books for some hearty grub.

She is searching for nectar to quench her thirst

because for her knowledge always comes first.

Narratives will go with the wind and perish,

if writers don’t write and publishers don’t publish.

Books combat the oblivion of time’s rust;

either alive in a reader’s hand(s) or buried in a shelf’s dust.

There’s a worm in the bookshop in the city center.

She is hiding from the public glare— the eyes of the hunter.

There’s a worm in the bookshop. See! She’s devouring a book

because she likes to be considered as an intellectual (angry) kook.

Written 22 12 2013