smell of an old book

the old book with worn pages,

crinkled corners, faded images

flopped open after she knocked

the sleek ebony black bookshelf

and caught the childhood favorite

between her hands, the cover like

her grandmother’s skin, wrinkled

and soft with years of wear, reminding

her of nights spent reading favorite

passages, adored character visits,

scene changes, plot twists, and

now a new one unfolds, save it

or keep it? the warm vanilla,

grassy, almond-like undertones

wraps its arms around her senses,

flooding her with emotions a

decade away, she hugs the book

to her chest, an old, faithful friend,

its new home on her bedside desk,

it’s time she reread it, anyway.

-Madeline Wahl