Brian Bilston: This Book is for Life, Not Just for Christmas

Before proceeding further, please consider this poem carefully.
Estimates suggest as many as five hundred copies
of my books were abandoned
in the weeks following last Christmas,

many f which revelaed signs of neglect

(dust, uncracked spines etc.) and mistreatment

(dog-eared pages, unseemly doodling, or damage consistent

with having been thrown at a wall).

Ofthen these books were unable to find their way

back again afterwards, and ended up

drifting into a series of low-paid or unsuitable jobs,

employed as coasters or doorjambs,

or in the propping up of wonky desks and kitchen tables.

One copy became a makeshift table tennis bat

in an underfunded community centre. Others were found

sleeping rough in boxes left outside charity shops.

With great poetry comes great responsibility,

and so, before embarking on this book,

ask yourself these important questions:

Am Í committed to it? Can I offer it the home it deserves?

Am I prepared for the impact it might have on my life?