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Opening up

The woman on the bookshop till

says The Great Gatsby is her favourite book

she says she's got three copies


I've bought it on a whim, with

The Princess Bride and a book

that Murakami recommends


I'll get round to them all at some point, probably


I was early for a dental appointment

a filling in a back molar, poor

time-keeping, so I shopped


because I can, and because

it's sunny at last and I can buy

books on a whim now


I bought some bread from the market

too, the guy tried small-talk

but it isn't my thing, I smiled politely


At times like this, say something non-committal


I haven't read The Great Gatsby

in about twenty years, a girlfriend

borrowed my copy


She's gone on to do more

with her life than me. I wonder

why the woman on the counter has three copies


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