Catalogs

One of the fun things I do for work
Is go through dozens of catalogs,
Looking for promising books to review.

It shocks me yet how many are not promising.

Sometimes there are books that I wonder about,
Ones that, as I’m racing through dozens of horrors,
Maybe warrant a second look, with fresh perspective.
I pull those pages aside “for later,”
Until I gradually accumulate
An overwhelming folder of papers that are
Almost promising.

I finally figured out how to deal with them.
I take five sheets out at a time,
Look over the ten sides carefully,
Discarding or keeping.
Then I make a mark to show that I have looked
At those ten or fifty titles.

This way, I know that I am making progress,
Even if the fat folder does not appear to change.

I can do this for an hour before my
Decision-making capacity
Freezes

And I need to take a break.