Allison Burris

I could have fallen in love with books for the sound alone,
the crackle of a spine, the whisper of my thumb along the edge,
volumes could be written about the turning of a single page,
or that thrum, flapping paper wobbles when you shake
the binding. The flicker of flipping through pages, never 
quite like a bird’s wing. Then consider the smell: musty ink
spice. There’s the heft. It would be enough to have pages
thick as cream, empty choirs to fill with humming hands. 
It would be enough if they kept their stacking property,
and it was only as blocks that you could build worlds.  

Allison Burris lives in Oakland, CA, where you can find her reading and searching for whimsy. She has a Master’s in Library Science and her work appears in various journals like Passionfruit Review, Hoxie Gorge Review, Heartlines Spec, and Metphrastics. Connect with her: https://linktr.ee/allisonburris