Shannon Harms

A Perilous Match

A Perilous Match Her fingers trace the outlines of each hardbound spine for rows and rows at a time. Down and up, to the right, skipping over ones she’s already read. Texture, material, withstanding integrity: all essential aspects of her hunt for the next notebook for her collection. Some may refer to them as “journals” but to her they are most definitely notebooks. Each book has a pragmatic purpose, even if that purpose is to hold pages of unspoken love sonnets for the clerk at the front of the shop.