A Library Book

I type a title, hit “Reserve;”
My name gets on the list,
A feature of the library
That once did not exist.

I wait a week or two or three
And sometimes even more
But then I get an email
That the book is back in store.

I check it out and have two weeks
To read and bring it back;
Then workers clear my name and they
Replace it in the stack.

Another patron gets a note –
The book has been returned.
The next in line has no idea
Just where it has sojourned.

The cycle will repeat itself
Until the book’s passé
When it will languish on a shelf
Or worse, get thrown away.