“Ink runs from the corner of my mouth”
Most readers coming to the poem for the first time are likely to expect the title is somehow metaphorical and the opening line shatters that expectation with a brilliantly vivid imagery that at once indicates the title is meant to be taken literally. The word choice convey that he speaker is this literal aspect goes a step beyond to reveal that the speaker isn’t just literally eating words, he is gorging on them like a glutton afraid he won’t get enough.
"There is no happiness like mine."
Now that the reader knows the speaker is literally eating poetry, he may wonder about the context. Is he being forced to eat it, somehow? Is the consumption of words tasty or disgusting? The second line of the poem clears up any confusion. He is gorging on poetry like glutton because the consumption brings him great pleasure.
“their blond legs burn like brush”
“They” are dogs which have just run up the stairs leading to the basement are now pouring into the library. This line provides not just the only simile found in the entire poem, but the only example of alliteration.
"The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and
weep."
This line indicates a significant change in characterization. The woman initially referred to simply as “the librarian” has now become “the poor librarian” and has lost all the control and authority commonly associated with her vocation.
"She does not understand."
Now stripped of her title and reduced to just a “she” the librarian becomes the target of the poem’s most calculated used of understatement. In light of watching a man eat books and dogs suddenly appearing from the basement…yeah, it’s fairly safe to say she doesn’t understand. To say the least.
"I am a new man."
The absence of irony in the poem up to this line is rather remarkable considering the absurdity of the situation. Ironic this line is, however, as the concluding two lines following indicate that, in fact, the speaker who has been literally eating poetry has now literally turned into a dog himself.
