It seems telling that I cannot remember
The last time I weeded the shelves at the library
But today I went through the list identifying
Which titles were no longer useful if they ever were
Even the more recent publications betray
A distinct lack of activity from their spines
Barely cracked the pages evidently yellowed only
At the top because they have hardly lain flat
As it turns out I went through the management section
All the bits and bobs of advice never heeded
Of how to grow your career and win the future
Or win your career and grow the future—innovatively
One could tell their usefulness had passed
In the sheer vapidity of their typefaces and covers
And empty headed guarantees of easy fixes
If not explicit hucksterism just to sell books
That not only no one else bought they never even read
Nevertheless they filled up the cart quite neatly
As I brought them to the back room to be discarded
And in all likelihood recycled in the regular bins
Where all the thoughts we thought were valid
In their inevitable horribleness are destined to go
Thankfully the spaces these sorry books took up
Have already been reclaimed by their absence
The emptiness that only jostles the shelf back together
Oddly enough gives us all the room we need to think
Joshua Keiter 