by Julia Griffin

For Mary; after Praed

“’America says goodbye to the mass-market paperback: The so-called ‘pocket book’ sold in supermarkets is being phased out across the US, the latest sign of an ongoing shift in how people are choosing to read.”
—The Guardian

Goodnight to the mass-market paperback!
We’re flocking no longer en masse;
They can’t get the train station gaper back;
Commuters just shrug as they pass.
There’s nobody left to peruse them
On Walmart’s or Albertsons’ racks:
With Kindle at hand, who would choose them
When each is $8, plus tax?
Where once they seemed cheap, they seem pricey;
It’s not like their quality’s great,
And if we desire something spicy,
Well, words on a screen have no weight.

Goodnight to the mass-market paperback!
Alas, there’s no way to entice
The reader (that faithless escaper) back—
At least, without crashing the price.
A few might appear sentimental
(Thus proving their hearts are not stones);
However, a larger percent’ll
Move on, unconcerned, with their phones.
So finish your blinking and gulping:
The market must always be right:
The new age is golden for pulping:
Good night, old companion, good-night.