Lending Books is a Risky Business

Lisa Montagne

I once had a book
By Alice Walker
With bent
Corners
And a Coffee stain
On its cover.

It contained the seeds
Of my Womanhood.

I also once desired
A certain clever boy
With hair like a seal’s back,
And a neck I wanted to
Sink my teeth into
Deep.

One night,
I took him the book
As an offering.

Then,
He took me.

I never saw
The boy or my book
Again.

Twenty Years
And I still
Miss that book.

Lisa Montagne has been a college English instructor for more than 20 years. She has taught at University of California Irvine, Irvine Valley College, and Long Beach City College. She also trains faculty in educational technology at Irvine Valley College and designs writing workshops for Running Wild Press. Montagne has a B.A. in English with a drama minor, an M.A. in English literature, a teaching credential in English, and a doctorate in higher education. She is also a visual and performance artist, writer, and poet. Her creative non-fiction and personal narrative essays have been published by Running Wild Press, The Ear literary and arts magazine, and Boomer Reviews.

© Variant Literature Inc 2021