By

Rick Brown

I must have fallen fast asleep 
   not long after I propped up my feet
   on the table in the library
   where I should have working on my book report
   for my geography teacher, Mrs. Effle Dufort.

Instead,
I gently rested my head
   and when I finally looked about;
   all the lights in the library were out.
The doors were locked and I couldn't leave
   and if I called the police
   why would they ever believe
   my story? I don't know.

And then I panicked
   and then I cried
   and then I almost thought I'd died;
When I bumped a book off it's shelf; 
   it landed in a pile by itself.
Two Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,
   that book meant nothing to me.

I heard a noise
   so I quickly hid;
   and what went by me but a giant squid?
In a library? Late at night?
It seemed to be coming from that book.
I quickly went over and took a look.

Yes, it came right out from that story
   and it was looking for me
   because I bumped the book to the floor.
I'd better be careful not to bump
   anymore.

Then I knocked a book I'd read
   — or seen the movie, instead.
Jurassic Park suddenly made
   my heart skip a beat when 
   I saw it plop right on my feet.

From under the cover
   I saw an eye hover
   just as the squid crawled by.

Over in Children's they fought it out,
   the squid and dino in a world class bout.
Still the doors were locked
   and I had no way to get my scared little self
   out.

Then I saw a book I knew;
   about a certain clever cat who
   had a hat and some friends that would do;
Perhaps you know them:
   Thing One and Thing Two.

Well, they scrapped
   and they fought
   and wrestled the beast from the past
   and the squid from the sea
   and the cat, you know how he likes to be:
Honestly he drove me right out of the library.

Oh, I've learned my lesson
   and I learned it well,
   you see I've spent my time in library heck.
I won't fall asleep ever again
   because of that place I once had been:
   lost with books that seem so safe
   in that innocent looking library place.

Don't mess with what lies under the covers
   because you just might learn something or other
   about something useful like the squid next door
   and maybe a few thousands things more
   that you could find
   while lost in the library.