I see them on the pages regardless of where they’re from

Definitely those from the neighborhood library box

Also in the used bookstore there are some

Those turning pages are such a pleasant hum

On white paper among the black print

There are splotches

I need not squint

Green dots, red dots

Brown streaks

Banana-shaped peaks

Pepper flecks

Black spots

Is that marker or blood

Chocolate or mud

Pepper or dirt

Those books are ubiquitous

Stains on the pages are somewhat mischievous

They’re all of the above

Relics from shorelines

Playgrounds and airplanes

Stories that descend generations and stand the test of time

Let those pages get dirty

Don’t be in a hurry

As the story takes you in

Some splashes of water will make the pages thin

But won’t ever water down what was written

Read wherever you are

The smears, smudges, crayon marks, sand on the pages are beautiful scars