Valker, Henry

This morning I woke up with Anne Sexton in my bed. As I riffled through the pages of her complete poems, reading various selections aloud, I came across the following receipt from the local library:

#352     02-15-2010    10:37am
Item(s) checked out to Valker, Henry.

TITLE: Every time we say goodbye [videor
BC:35143007910703
DUE DATE: 02-20-2010

TITLE: The curious case of Benjamin Butt
BC: 35143007909408
DUE DATE: 02-20-2010

TITLE: Mr. Deeds goes to town [videoreco
BC: 35143006324575
DUE DATE: 02-20-2010

TITLE: The complete poems
BC: 35143000953412
DUE DATE: 03-15-10

It is interesting the information one can gather from a tiny slip of paper: Mr. Valker visited the library Monday morning, at 10:37am, and borrowed several videos tapes. While the facts are indisputable, it is the mystery behind Mr. Valker that is debatable. A mystery. The complete poems of Sexton is 622 pages cover to cover, quite a long book, and I can't help but wonder if he read them all. There are markings in pencil and highlighter throughout the book. Dog eared pages and notes scribbled in margins. Do these notes belong to Mr. Valker and was it he who bent the pages of the poems he loved?  Did Mr. Valker have a Mrs. Valker? Did he whisper these lyrics in her ear or did he read them alone at his kitchen table with his Saltines and bowl of soup? Was Mr. Valker a young strapping lad from the local university, or is he a retired veteran decorated with wrinkles and crow's feet. Maybe he is a professor with a patched twill suit coat. He checked the book out for lecture. Maybe he is an atheist or an immigrant consulting poetry in order to learn English. He may be a wealthy business man. The possibilities are endless. Though I do not know this Mr. Valker, his age, profession, or marital status, I know that we share a desire to read the spoken word. Whoever he is, I think we'd be good friends.