Sonnet of the Book Thieves —

‘The KCDC tried to slip this one through on the quiet

Telling the Friends of the Libraries, with a certain mirth

The belief that books in the digital age are of little worth

In such a convincing manner that they would buy it

They’d ‘forgotten’ to check the Waikanae Library properly

Because of toxic policies towards printed written matter

A large number of books lay mouldy and in tatters

The result is that they have had to abandon the Library

A recent film remembers well those who destroy books

When a young woman rescued books from a Nazi bonfire

A civilization depends on its attitude to the written word

Thus, beware of thieving, conniving, bureaucratic crooks

Who leave the wealth of knowledge and wisdom in their mire

Of ignorance and greed, which is both withered and absurd