Pick up that book I brought,
I enjoy it very much,
How much sentimentality
Will offend you?
What about all those star-studded
Dedications I thought
Might help you process it all?
You should be pleased
I give you idiosyncrasy
In this selection,
If it is not funny in its depth,
It shall set a deadpan fire under you.
A change in your life?
This book can shift a worldview,
Make reading an expense,
Depending on where it takes you,
It might even cost you
More than words,
Numbers can also get involved,
Leading to the rise
Of a negative entry on your ledger,
But please do not open it up
While I am inside your bedroom
And judge the book by its cover page,
Let me go back home
And for a moment enjoy the sight
Of one empty space
On the shelves in my apartment.
Ben Nardolilli currently lives in Arlington, Virginia. His work has appeared in Perigee Magazine, Red Fez, Danse Macabre, The 22 Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Elimae, fwriction, THEMA, Pear Noir, The Minetta Review, and Yes Poetry. He has a chapbook, Common Symptoms of an Enduring Chill Explained, from Folded Word Press. He blogs at mirrorsponge.blogspot.com and is looking to publish his first novel.