Shelving – Benjamin Aliphon

February 27, 2026

My books are held by white floating shelves, and I hate them, the shelves, I could never hate the books, the books I own, I could hate a book, generally, but not these. I hate that they are held by shelves I can barely see, against the white wall they almost disappear, but not in the way I would like them to. They are still there and I hate them, even though I can barely see them. I see what they do, which is hold up the books I love as if they were floating, but I know they are not. Weak, so weak they are starting to lean under the weight of all the books they carry, yet strong enough not to fall and take off paint from the wall behind them. For that I am grateful.
        Under the bottom shelf, its floating way of being creates a void I have to fill with junk. Shopping bags and my mother’s containers which once held much needed meals on nights I would have otherwise starved. Out of spite for the shelves, I place these things here, another reason to hate them.
        How much I would love a large wooden bookcase, you could never fathom, maybe even more than I love my books. A wooden bookcase from floor to ceiling with a ladder so I could reach the top. All my books displayed on shelves worth looking at. My guests would come and comment on the beauty of my case, the colour, the grain, the ornamentality would be too much for them not to stand and marvel. At dinner they would ask me to be a good host and read to them my favourite line. I would be so proud of this piece and the joy it brings to me and my friends. They would be proud of me for having such a case in my house at all. Women would come over and be astounded by my bookcase, caress the wood and then me and I would take them to the floor beside it. My children will have a favourite section and show me the books they want to be read at night. I will keep the bookcase in my divorce and move it across the country in a trailer, carefully padded. I would die by such a bookcase, only to then see it again as I go into the light.