Rowling's Line
An advance look back at that
long-ago night of 16 July 2005
(With apologies to Longfellow. Originally appeared on Godric's Hollow Dec. 2004.)
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the Midnight line of Jo, the dear,
On the 16th of Summer in twenty-oh-five;
No fanfool who wanted to survive
Dared jump the line that day and year.
Jo said to us, "If you will march
To Barnes & Noble in the night,
Their lights aglow in the strip-mall arch
Near Starbuck's, as a signal light,
For paltry cost, Book Six you'll see --
While I, in the British Isles shall be
Braced to hear the dawn's alarm,
For then begins the pleasant charm
Of signing books -- my poor, poor arm!"
That magic night we breached the door
And entered yon Danbury store.
The rugrats, rife in every bay,
On chairs, on foot, and on the floor!
The ads had roused to fever pitch
The anxious teens, both poor and rich;
Survived each wizard and each witch
On chewing-gum and Altoid mints
While waiting for the Half-Blood Prince.
'Twas Midnight by the bookstore clock
When cartons, sealed and dated, came
To answer to the Potter flock,
Now formed in lines to play the game.
Each empty carton went astray,
For some had learned that fools would pay
If they were posted on eBay;
But nothing could exceed the look
of joy as each received THE BOOK.
You know the rest. On message boards we've read
How speedily the wizards homeward ran --
How read the witches on 'til nearly dead!
So through the night each Harry Potter fan
Read on and on, lest sleep should intervene
Before Jo's many words had all been seen,
And all the while, alert for any hints --
About the coming sequel to the Prince.
Listen, my children, for you all know
How the seventh book ended, long ago.
You'll hear some oldsters spouting jive
Of the 16th of Summer in twenty-oh-five;
But my tale's true, I swear and sign --
For I was there in Rowling's Line.