Sadiqullah Khan - Water Logs

Watermelons are sliced parodies
of wood logs. Perhaps in the early cold
Winter for my hearth I needed logs
floating in water and drying in dust
eaten by termite, but ‘responded’ well
to Rossetti, Donne and Thomas Hardy.
He welcomes you to sit by the fireside;
and offers wine, for ye need to be sleepy
to listen or read. But a worthwhile log
to fan the fire – The book is no good either.
The last page reads a dying wish by the publisher.
In verbatim,

“Looking for the perfect gift
For the poetry lover in your life?
Or perhaps you would like to pamper yourself?
If so consider one of our deluxe editions.
‘The Giant Book of Poetry’
and ‘Thoughts I Left Behind’
are available in leather bound versions
with hubbed spine accented with 22kt
Gold, lustrous moiré fabric endsheets.
acid-neutral paper, gilded page ends,
and a permanently bound-in satin ribbon
page marker. A limited copy of these are
available signed and numbered.”

After reading I threw the book in the hearth
and sipped my wine dry.

-on reading ‘Thoughts I left Behind’ by William H. Roetzheim

Sadiqullah Khan
Islamabad
November 28,2013.

Sadiqullah Khan

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/water-logs/