Antique Finishes
The lovely grain of quartersawn oak
With age’s silk patina glows
And hints of many-storied lives
And past events nobody knows;
The ghosts and gossips of days gone
Are whispered in the cupboards’ glassed
Door fronts; the table’s curving legs
Bespeak its long, mysterious past;
In the looking-glass, the passage
Of the hours and years is blurred
By antiquity’s sweet singing
All the stories ever heard,
By the voices of the missing,
Of the dead departed wealth
That once filled these halls with magic,
Now reached only late, by stealth.
If antiquity should call me,
Siren-like, to take a look,
Once more in my soul I’ll draw it
From the pages of a book . . .
Art-Colored Glasses 
Oh my Goodness – what have you done to us, my friend 🙂 🙂 can we send our postal address to you so that you can ship those incredible books to us (sadly, only joking!!!) Are they yours, Kathryn and the Violine?? Jo and I are collecting books, old old ones preferred. Thanks for the visual treat. Carina
Yes, I am a vintage book lover (in both senses of the phrase!) myself, but those particular ones were just a set I admired and photographed in a shop, having neither the cash nor the shelf space for them at the moment! I try to take pictures of such lovelies so that I can at least have fond memories of ‘meeting’ them. Same with beautiful instruments–since I hang out with so many musicians I get occasional urges to document the exquisite tools of the trade, remembering through my pictures both the visual and the aural joys. So glad you enjoyed them, too, my friend!
Beautiful!
🙂 Mandy xo
Thank you, Beautiful! 😀 xoxo! Kath
Old books: how many days and months I’ve spent in them.
They certainly make fine and palatial shelter for those who find their way in between the covers.
Nothing will ever replace a real book … especially the olden ones, with their bindings so seductive to the eye and touch …
So many stunning lines here, Kathryn … I have shared on my Facebook author page … hope that is ok! XO
Thank you, dearest, you know I have given you carte blanche. Weren’t those pretty books, then? Wish I’d had a better excuse to adopt them, but at least I got to enjoy them in the shop. 🙂
Oh, how lovely are your words, Kathryn, which convey our beloved relationships with books..sending much love! xo