Dog-Eared

I’ve been reading a book from the library,
A novel that engages,
And I noticed a very disturbing trend
In the corners of numerous pages.

I think the appropriate name for this
Is “dog-eared,”or so I’m told;
When the uppermost corner of the page
Has the marks of a previous fold.

This particular book has not one or two,
But a scattering throughout;
So the reader had paused quite a lot, it seems,
Interrupted or bored, no doubt.

Did the person not have, anywhere in sight,
A bookmark or makeshift adapter?
And the horror, to me, is that every fold’s
In the middle of every chapter!

At least read to the end where you’re meant to stop
Before you crease and deface;
Though I really do not understand
Why a bookmark can’t hold your place.

‘Cause the book isn’t yours – it’s a borrowed treat;
You should handle it with care.
If ‘twere my book I’d lent and you did the same,
Well, I hope that you wouldn’t dare.

As a reader I do appreciate
All the library’s vast array,
And I’m thrilled that such treasures are waiting there
Like toy soldiers, propped for display.

But I wish every reader would stop and think
That each book, for a time, at least,
Will be back on the shelf ‘til a new reader comes
Who would like pages quite uncreased!