Appreciation

I have many boxes of books
that I never get to read
while battling that worst of crooks
with ticking hands of greed

a minute here, a minute there
until there’s none for me
this fiend has crept throughout my lair
the dust of what could be

thank goodness for the jackets on
these precious tomes I’ve stored
perhaps someday when I’m long gone
someone else will prize this hoard.