From the collection And Don’t Come Back, 2021.
In the Quiet Room
the Desk Lamp Glows
Another has been looking for you
through the fine gray film
of a dirty magnifying glass –
passing it over the faded print
on acid-eaten pages
the ink as black as ever
the words cutting into the soft paper
page after page after page of them –
so many of them –
and I think he’ll find you
despite the stumbling blocks –
so strong is his memory
of you
and how you never missed a chance
to ridicule him
8/31/20
Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That? 
Ouch. Some women!
Also, some books. If I am being literal! I still think my college art history book was mocking me.
Ha-ha-ha-ha!!!
This poem makes me think of my days spent researching my thesis in the stacks of a dark floor of the university library, poring over obscure and long neglected books. I still have a strong smell memory of that experience.
I think the smell of a library is always comforting, no matter what the context is of why you are in there!