Dirtbag

A cheap second hand book from Amazon starts a trail of thought...

Dirtbag

 

So my book arrived today from Amazon Prime.

I open the book and breathe in deep that worn book smell,

a must with half remembered notes of moss and damp spring pine.

 

The book is stamped:

LAS VEGAS - CLARK COUNTY

LIBRARY DISTRICT

833 LAS VEGAS BLVD, N

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 89101.

It has travelled far from bone-meal desert and roulette prayers,

to the galvanised sky of Sheffield.

 

As with all well-thumbed books,

the leaves betray its readers.

The pages inked with more than just print,

trace an outline of each of the lives that

 

suspended

 

themselves          between          its covers.

 

I study the imprint of these clues,

imagining myself bemonocled

beneath a deerstalker.

 

a) The word ‘unfaithful’ underlined in red,

    a ghost of past betrayal.

 

b) Coffee stains with the aroma

    of snatched office lunches and

    early morning commutes.

 

c) The biro tattoo of the student,

     scrawling notes between Red Bulls.

d) folded corners where

    life once again interjects with its drudgery.

 

I turn the pages, joining the ranks of these spectral lives,

wondering what the next person,

pulling this volume from a charity shop shelf,

will read into me.

 

Will they consider the eager hands that

leafed through these pages before them?

Or consider the imaginative space they

cohabit with each estranged reader?

 

I turn the final page,

The protagonist,

weighed with contrition,

crawls

out

of his

clothes

into a

lover’s

arms.

 

A yellowing scrap of post-it note below reads:

what a dirtbag!

Reviews

[ANTO]

"suspended
themselves between its covers." I cant recreate the formatting here for this section but your construction of it was mind-blowingly inspiring WA.

Who among us hasnt wondered what the inscriptions in old books mean - but who has been creative enough to write about it - and in such style - each stanza a vignette of a life. Class write my friend!
The ending is sublime.

[William Arthur]

Thanks Anto :) i had my reservations about this one but that has really massaged them.

[Jamestown]

Creative for sure,thanks for sharing

[~]

Extensively creative. I could smell the book with each line. You have a gift for turning something mundane to a mysterious Mona Lisa.
P.S. college kids drink "monster" over here :):)

[William Arthur]

Hey I actually drink Monster Absolute Zero more commonly than I drink Red Bull but you're right from the perspective of the poem i should be assuming those students are Americans and if Americans dont drink much red bulls that bums out the image. I will edit it shortly. I lived in canada for a while and there they drunk Rockstar (at least where i was) i remember grabbing a double vodka Rockstar in a nightclub and going out onto the dancefloor- there were UV lights in the club and the Rockstar started glowing- I was freaked out and seriously questioned what they put in there to make it do that but I drank it anyway because I'd drunk four of them already and assumed any damage must have already been done.... I might write an energy drink themed poem...

[William Arthur]

'scrawling notes between Monsters' also opens the poem up to some comic readings to those who are not savvy with energy drink brands...

[~]

LOL :) you are very funny. Yes. Rockstar too. Ahhh energy drink poem sounds amazing. I can only imagine the chain chemical reactions that go on while mixing it all with good old alcohol. Have you tried marshmallow vodka shots? Yummy if you like sweets.

[William Arthur]

nope, do you just dissolve marshmallows in vodka? if so sounds good, except the marshmallows in england aren't as tasty as the ones in america- theres some sort of additive thats banned in the UK that makes american ones scrummy. I do like Skittle vodka, especially when its made with Sour Skittles. do you have Skittles in the US? if so give it a pop. also Lovehearts, Palma Violets, Jelly Bears, Blackjacks, Woppas, and Fruit Salads are all good dissolved in vodka :)

[~]

Lol :) you sound like a barista my friend. No you don't dissolve marshmallows, you just buy it like that from the grocery store :) and don't mess with skittles ;)