the stamp book

he spent much of his free
time collecting stamps
from all over the world.
ancient stamps
once licked
by people long gone.
once attached to letters
sent during wars
long since fought,
lost or won.
he put them in a book
with black
soft pages.
making a note beside
each.
the date, the country,
the places
they were sent or not
sent at all.
you find the book
at a flea market,
a neighborhood sale,
where people sit in lawn
chairs
drinking beer and smoking.
beside the stamps
there are paintings,
water colors, finger paintings.
each a dollar.
lamps without shades,
pots without plants,
rakes
and tools, empty boxes
crates holding nothing,
marked down to two dollars
or best offer.
you buy the stamp book,
fifty cents.
once priceless to someone.
now rescued.