They’ve been with me more
than anyone I’ve loved.
Some are heavy, some are light.
None are dead weight.

I’ve packed them and stacked them,
from one continent to another,
between towns, even rooms of my house.
Some are worn from constant handling.
Others gather dust on the highest shelves.

I could point you to one
that has not been cracked open in years,
that, if it were a child,
would file for negligence.
But it is a child.
And I love them all equally.
Not for their content necessarily.
But how they occupy a space.

They were all in bookstores once,
up front in windows,
or in the back, like dogs
given up hope of ever being adopted.
I found a second hand copy of “Walden”
with a flower pressed into its pages.
The flower is still there.

My copy of “Lord Jim,”
also twice-loved,
is inscribed with a name
and an address in Paris
dated October 3rd 1927,
on its dedication page.

I searched for the house on Google Earth,
discovered an unprepossessing stone house
on an unpretentious avenue.
My book’s owner I expect is long dead.
Did I say “my book”?
I meant to say “our book.”

Written by John Grey – Johnston, Rhoade Island – USA

 Feature Photo by Danny

---

---

This is a great course for authors. I will be using the material as a reference for all my future book projects. Thanks. ~Sudhir Ahluwalia

I felt like I was in such good hands during this whole class! ~Andrea Askowitz

AMAZING !!!! A Wealth of information, that no wants to tell you about. You can be in control of your book. Wonderful….. ~Rocio Vargas

• FREE DOWNLOAD of “The Right Way to Self Publish” ebook.
• Adobe InDesign – Format your book’s interior without the hassle of readjusting your page numbers and paragraphs. Create a manageable table of contents. Free 7-day download link included.
• Adobe Photoshop – Design a professional-looking book cover without paying an artist hundreds of dollars. Free 7-day download included.
• HTML Coding – Learn basic computer coding language so that you can better manage your website and format ebooks.