Tread softly in these magic halls,–
This Palace of Romance;
For mighty monarchs of the mind
Gaze at your every glance.
Prophet and poet, priest and sage
Are living here anew;
From alcove and from crowded stack
They look again at you.
And all these voices of the past
Are murmuring again
Their garnered wisdom of the world
Into the ears of men.
Here Keats is watching eagerly
Wherever Beauty gleams;
Shakspere is gazing in your heart;
And Shelley, in your dreams.
So enter very softly here
This Palace of Romance;
For all the monarchs of the mind
Peer at your step and glance!
John Cotton Dana called the public library “the most democratic, universal institution ever devised,” and Newark’s library has fostered the work of countless women and men of letters, including native son Louis Ginsberg. This tribute was featured in The Attic of the Past and Other Lyrics.
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