Henrietta's classifications for her bibliotheck
By Lydia Harris
1
Sunday vellum tongues with words of prayer
Monday messages from the unknown
Tuesday how to live with the blinds drawn down
Wednesday learn to balance on a point
Thursday how to keep reading on
Friday books of fasts and fishes
Saturday for a house swept clean
2
by: sea; land; stone; sand.
by: moss; hill; cliff; shore.
3
(the standing stone method)
split to the tilting
dug-in to the fallen-down
moss-grown to the long shadow thrown
hole bored through to the eye full
4
(according to water)
in the eye of the well
the tide on the turn
the curtain of rain
loch with reeds at its rim
the bowl by the stove the cat drinks from
5
(the passage plan)
door to the byre
door to the yard
door to the but-end
door to the hill
6
(as six dance steps)
toe-to-heel
skip-up
skip-down
slip-step
skip-change
pas de basque
7
according to stone
according to Fitty, Gallo, Knucker
according to each limb
according to the song
8
according to twenty-four satin slippers
heel toe sole ribbon
Copyright Credit: Lydia Harris, "Henrietta's classifications for her bibliotheck" from Henrietta's Library of the Whole Wide World. Copyright © 2024 by Lydia Harris. Reprinted by permission of Blue Diode Press.
Source: Henrietta's Library of the Whole Wide World (Blue Diode Press, 2024)