When my first book came out in 2004, I did a signing at one of my favorite bookstores, Tattered Cover in my home state of Colorado. That day I bought a t-shirt to commemorate the event. Made of the softest cotton, it was well worn as I read many tattered-covered books throughout the years.
Recently, as I pulled that T from my closet shelf, slipped it over my head and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I realized the shirt itself is now a “tattered cover”. Inspired, I wrote.
A Tattered Cover
A tattered cover wraps silken pages
Weathered by memories of fingertip nights
And legs curled in sun drenched chairs
Words playing leap frog in affable rows
Folding—origami of time and tale
Bound and binding
Cadence remembered like a song
A tattered cover drapes tender heart
In yesterday’s fabric still loved
Soft as puffs of dandelion poised
Found dancing against familiar curve
Folding—communion of cloth and body
Worn and wearing
Each warmed by the other
Landmark where the two assemble
Silken pages and tender heart
Ample shelves surrender dreams unending
And far-flung journeys real or imagined
Holding—bounty of magic and paper
A Tattered Cover
Rugged brick shouldering the wind
– Brooke Bessesen, 2009