Many Lives

To live many lives
folded into this one
To understand the thoughts
of those unlike myself
To view the world
in ways I never could
To share heartache
that is not my own
To aspire to greatness
I have never felt
To believe in our ability
to change and grow
To become more loving
and compassionate
To learn and absorb
wisdom from the past
Open the book
Let the words find
your eyes
Let the pages live
in your mind
Let the world
renew itself in you

Be careful with the words you read
and let live inside your mind.

Fat Head

My brain has grown fat
from all the books

I have fed it. It desires
to be more corpulent

and I will not deny
that for which it hungers.

Giving Life

All words are fragments
in thought

          and on the page.

The act of reading
brings life

to that

           which cannot

exist

with
       out
us.

Book Lovers

You can tell the discomfort a new book feels

From the first moment you hold it.

It stiffens as you flip it open to a random page.

The crisp virgin edges may try to cut you

Quick so that you set it down.

After a few moments it can begin to relax

If it senses good intentions through

The fingers feeling its being.

Given enough time it will

Open easily to such familiar touches,

It may even be fine with new hands

After some time. It won’t mind

The little bits of wear at the corners

As they become rounded

From repeated readings.

If ultimate trust is gained

It will permit marginalia

And highlighted lines of text.

It will grow despondent

If you part ways

But it knows there could be

Another set of hands

Another set of eyes

Waiting for the moment

To meet and share

The most intimate of words

From deep within its pages.