Bookends

A Poem by Carlton Carr

I fear
I will never fall in love
with screeds of words
on screens however small
like I fell for
and still adore
books

the look of them
the smell of them
the smell of the stores
the pristine ones
or the ones with second hand books
piled in dust
with pages that hold
scribbled in the margins
someone’s sudden thought
caught between the pages

the feel of them
their weight
their telling spoiling creases
and traces of ancient
mayo and coffee stains

I fear
I will never fall in love
with texting or tweeting
the way I love
the spoken word

whoever heard of
friends you’ve never met
never touched their wet tears
their dry aged hands
or limber young cheeks
or seen their smile

it’s all so antiseptic
and bland
and lacks blood
and skin and touch
like using a condom
after being a bareback teenage
pre aids
w***e

it’s all very necessary
I fear
to progress technologically
but still I long for
words wrapped in covers
between book ends
and conversations
with real live friends