In the whispering halls of time's vast library,
Echoes the art, the binder's secret alchemy.
From papyrus scroll to parchment's fold,
A tale of binding, quietly told.
In the shadow of the scribe, the codex born,
Stitching together pages, worn.
Leather clasps and wooden spine,
Held the words of a line divine.
Through the middle ages, under candle's glow,
Monks bent low, their movements slow.
Gold leaf, and vellum pure,
Crafted bindings, made to endure.
Then came the press, Gutenberg's child,
Words proliferated, mild and wild.
Bookbinding, no longer cloister's keep,
Entered the streets, where dreams don't sleep.
In the bookbinder's realm, where silence reigns,
A meticulous dance, where patience gains.
Threads intertwine, in delicate might,
Binding the pages, holding them tight.
Woven fabrics, pulped cotton's embrace,
Cloth the covers, with humble grace.
Spine to stitch, leaf to leather,
Crafted to endure, whatever the weather.
Chemicalized glue, with subtle art,
Holds the tome's soul, its every part.
Seamless unions, hidden from sight,
In the binder's world, where day meets night.
Leaves once loose, now joined as one,
A journey complete, a story spun.
In this sacred space, where time slows its pace,
Lies the essence of knowledge, bound in place.
Cloth and paper, boards and glue,
The book's form, ever anew.
Victorian splendor, Art Nouveau's touch,
Binding's craft, evolved so much.
Yet, in this tale of craft and art,
Lies a deeper truth, close to heart.
Each stitch, each fold, each cover's face,
Holds humanity's collective grace.
In bindings lie, our stories bold,
Our knowledge deep, our wisdom old.
From sage to child, from seer to seer,
In bindings tight, we hold them dear.
So here's to the binder, unsung, yet wise,
Who stitches our tales under watchful skies.
In every bound page, every gilded letter,
Lies the world's soul, bound forever.
By Greg McNeilly
