Brown's passing

A childhood ritual followed annually
as we moved up a class, got new books
new to us but hand-me-downs verily
revolved around giving them new looks

Unused pages from used notebooks changed
into homemade ones as the name connotes
to keep the pristine look unchanged
of classwork they were our "rough notes"

new notebooks would be diligently draped
and labels with names stuck on their visages
brown covers cut aptly and shaped
before we wrote on, to the smell of new pages.

Only a few deserving books were colored brown
the rest were blurbed with newspapers of renown

years ago those skills I gained
lay dormant to come alive again
when my little one approached holding
her new book its edges folding
the cute pouty face evidently pained

I realized as I warmed up to the task
Brown's passing has come to a pass
as kids nowadays prefer
a shiny see-through cover
that protects but doesn't mask