Inscriptions

In the secondhand shop book section
I open the front covers, looking for inscriptions
Written with love, books given as gifts
For birthdays or chosen from Christmas lists
It breaks my heart to see these books given away
Lingering on the shelves in this limbo of a place
Did the previous owners downsize?
Or did someone else clean house after they died?
I buy them, even if they're not what I typically read
And pretend those handwritten messages were meant for me