Surely Someone Must Know

SURELY SOMEONE MUST KNOW

“But forced to qualify 

or so I feel, or well, 

it does seem so”

—Philip Larkin, Ignorance,

THE WHITSUN WEDDINGS

Strange to know nothing—

Standing in the stacks alone

Surrounded by all these books

Never to be really sure—

What is true or right or wrong

Surely someone must know

Strange to be ignorant—

Of the way people fall in love

Finding out who they need

There’s no sense to it—

Nothing to give me a clue

My willingness to change

Yes, it is strange—

Not knowing myself but 

Surely somebody knows?

Surrounded by books—

Spending my life this way

What does a Librarian know?