Seattle Public Library

I took a bus to downtown Seattle.
I had to transfer in the downtown area, so I looked at Google Maps and got off the bus thinking, “This is the place".

As I got off the bus, I looked around and saw the entrance to a beautiful building lit up by the warm sunlight and the blue sky. It is the Seattle Public Library.

The story that a Japanese person was involved in some way to build the library, its beautiful appearance, the structure inside the building that everyone would be curious enough to want to enter, and its convenient location. It is the most fascinating library where all of these things go together beautifully.

When was the last time I visited this place? I thought as I entered the front entrance, where the sunlight was inviting.

Even though it was a weekday afternoon, many people were searching for, reading, and borrowing books of their choice.

I took the escalator as if I was being guided, and headed up the escalator. It was interesting to see how the higher we climbed, the more ambiguous it became as to which floor was the top floor and which was the bottom floor.

Eventually I reached the top floor and thought, “Yes, that's right,” and asked the information man, “Where is Poetry? Where is Poetry?” He says, “It's on the 8th floor, this number.

He tells me that it is on the 8th floor, and that there is a spiral corridor that goes around the edge of the floor, and that I should walk down it to get there.

Wow, this is interesting. I ask, “How far down does this spiral go?” I asked. He said kindly, “It goes up to the sixth floor. I think to myself, “Okay,” and start walking, determined to go all the way around to the 6th floor.Eighth floor.
I looked for the number I had been given earlier, and also looked for the word “Poetry”. There it was. I picked up a copy of the book, thinking, “Wow, they are surprisingly scarce. I opened it.

Oh, wow. It was quite old. But there were definitely poems in it. I read some of them and took a deep breath. Interesting.

After browsing for a while, I suddenly remembered that I was going to go to the café I wanted to visit. I went around the spiral, thinking that I had made a very good detour. I go down the spiral.

I find a large globe. I play with it. I find the Star-Spangled Banner outside, drearily illuminated by the sun. I leave the place with people reading.

It's late afternoon, very quiet, and the light suits me.
Seattle Library.