the whole concept
of autographs
is so weird
to me

what is the value
of a sheet of paper
with scribbles all over?
i’m actually asking —
is it the fact that they touched it?
the proof of the meet
between you and a famous person?
what about a book on a shelf
that just happens to have the author’s signature
on the inside cover?
no meeting occurred,
no special message inscribed,
just a/the name
in a/the book
they wrote…

and does it still apply
if a famous author signs
a book they didn’t write?

honestly, that’s what i’d like —
a famous/famously trans author
signing all my [wizard child] books;
a woman signing those tomes contrived
by known misogynists
[of which there are so many];
any sort of “blasphemous” writer
signing
a bible —

i personally think that’s worth more than the dime-a-dozen
‘signed by author’
examples
in bookstores all over…

…but maybe that’s
just me