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Tuesday, November 12, 2013

SLICE OF LIFE

I'm a CYBILS judge.
And right now my life is full of books. 
I feel a little like the Arnold Lobel poem. 

Books to the ceiling, books to the sky.
My piles of books are a mile high.
How I love them!
How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.

Arnold Lobel


I love being Judge,
 I really do. 
But life tends to get a little crazy during this time.
There are piles of books
on every flat surface
and
every Saturday
I bring home another heaping pile of books. 
 I try to create some kind of order 
on my mantle.
Biographies in one pile.
Animals in another.
Transportation, still another.
And then a separate pile for dinosaurs. 
It's right next to the books about natural disasters
and kind of on top of the pile of electricity books 
that teeter precariously in front of the war books. 
 On Saturday afternoons
when I should be cleaning bathrooms
or mopping floors
or raking leaves   
I lose myself in nonfiction.
Piling my favorites in one corner
for rereading
the probably nots in another.  
My part of CYBILS is over on January 1st.
Thinking my bathrooms will really need cleaning by then.  

6 comments:

Jone said...

Oh Carol, I do miss Nonfiction sometimes. But I am happier focusing on poetry. Love this post. Will share with other CYBILS people.

Linda B said...

As a 2nd round judge, I don't have that feeling, but oh, you certainly get to read loads of good books! Love the poem, Carol.

MaryHelen said...

I love your connection with Arnold Lobel's poem, both in context and creating your own poem. This adventure is splendid and am glad to read review of honored books.

Andrea said...

I love this poem. I can absolutely picture those piles of books. It must be quite overwhelming, but fun to read so many great books.

Tara @ A Teaching Life said...

It all sounds rather hectic, but lovely, too - all those great books to read!

Unknown said...

I don't think I've ever seen the experience of being a Cybils judge captured so beautifully!