Never Buy A New Book

Made in 1953.

Full of yellowing pages

and with a torn cover the color of a cherry tree.

It had a smell that seemed like it had been through the middle ages

and had notes in messy scribbles from beginning to end.

What was underlined was probably someone’s feelings at the time

when they felt like they really could have used a friend.

This is why buying new books should be a crime.

With those, it’s all about the fresh pages and the pretty looks.

History and experiences never really change

and if we could live it through all of our ancient books,

we’d never think anything else as strange.