She knew where it was,
that thing you were looking for,
and if it wasn’t there
           she could tell you just how long
           you’d have to wait for it
           to be yours, not quite
long enough to finish perhaps 
or as long as you could hope for,
but in either case
           you would hear from her
           when she wanted it back
           as soon as (or even sooner)
than possible. If you became
over time familiar
with her ways and obeyed
           the rules and even understood
           why they were hers, who knew
           when time was up,
who could keep quiet
or at least hold his speaking voice
down, who could go without
            food or drink, who could show
            the proper attitudes
            of polite attention
or even of being lost
in thought, she would give you
for a while whatever
            you might desire within
            reason, and if it turned out
            to be what you really hadn’t
been looking for at all,
she would take it back
without the least sign
               of resentment (perhaps a sigh),
               within the natural bounds
               of the love of propriety,
she would give you almost anything
else you might still have
in mind, this good librarian.