One Hundred Words

St Albans Library, 2019

One Hundred Words

One hundred words, you say

I’ve already used up five,

Now it’s ten less than one hundred—

That makes it ninety.

Which reminds me,

Ninety plus two was my mother’s last birthday,

Sixty plus two is mine today—

And that’s worth celebrating with you!

One hundred words, you say

Of books, storytelling, wisdom, and design,

Generosity, community, celebration, and time.

One word for each year—

Overdue and renewal, fines and cards,

Gardening and travel, fiction and art,

Cookery and poetry, nursery rhymes too.

Now that’s one hundred years well spent with you!

Written as part of the100 word poem challenge and submitted to the poetry festival in Hertfordshire which is celebrating 100 days of libraries, creativity and reading for pleasure - April 2025