Friday, May 27, 2011

The Page Turner

When I read a book on Google
Scanned from paper onto screen,
I forget the steady labor
Of the scanner, sight unseen.

Then I see your lovely fingers
You’re the one who took the care,
You’re the one who turned the pages.
Now I know you’re hiding there.

8 comments:

Sean said...

Haha! Brilliant, a truly 21st century sonnet. Going to share this with some of my Special Collections friends :)

Tom Hart said...

How tedious that job must be! I wonder how often pages are mistakenly un-scanned because too many pages are flipped at once. Are there any checks on that, I wonder? I bet not...

Mimi said...

great little poem. I am always disappointed to find the ancient book i am hunting for is NOT available on google books, not without a price, anyway.. :-(

and yes, Tom there are mistakes.

Anonymous said...

Very clever Mr. Gurney: What a wonderful insight into an unseen world.

Gordon Napier said...

I always meant to write a novel under the pen name Paige Turner...

Björn said...

Finger condoms from now!

Anonymous said...

The fingers match the taffeta dress from the previous post.

Lois2037 said...

Somehow it is nicer to think that the eBooks were scanned, page by page, by a dedicated, careful person. I'd still rather turn the pages myself, though.