The Jumble Circuit

The jumble sale book table.
It's like a slice
Of unwanted society.
Dog-eared Rupert annuals feel mothered
By the Barbara Taylor-Bradfords.
Many a pastel-coloured saga novel
Lie hoping, wishing
That someone might just once
Keep them:
Then they could escape
The jumble circuit.
Two copies of Much Ado compete,
Both scarred with GCSE-note scrawl,
While the only hardback is
How To Pass Your Driving Test circa 1994
But no-one wants to know.
Then, like a coin in the sand,
Like a good colouring pencil
In a sea of browns:
Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea.
Alone, almost aristocratic.
The other books seethe with envy;
She'll definitely go for 75p.