The Book

when i first opened the book and started reading

it seemed peculiar to me

the people were strangers

and the language unfamiliar

so i dipped in and out

trying to force myself to concentrate

fighting the lack of fascination

and not spending much time in their company

it seemed to me that i was missing something

some foolish gap in my understanding

events were being referred to

and i didn't know the context

but i went back to the book

and slowly became more comfortable

in these people's presence

slowly became more confident

that the truth was being revealed to me

one layer at a time

i gradually became more and more engaged

and to my surprise i started to care

for these people and their troubles

i became used to the rhythm of the words

which had seemed so foreign to begin with

and found myself reading more often

and in longer stretches

now when not reading

i sometimes caught myself

thinking in the same way

as the book was written

the same rhythm of words

the same repetition of phrases

and suddenly i was in love

it felt like this world was my special place

felt like home

when i came back to it

coming to, i became aware

i only had 80 pages left

but still i hurtled on, devouring it

as my lovers learned their lessons

and met their truths

and one by one

all my questions were answered

with only 30 pages left i slowed down

and read the words aloud in my head

imagining i was reading to friends

i savoured every word

trying to speak in their voices

looking for meaning everywhere

afraid to miss a single thing

i read the last chapter so slowly

that it hardly made sense

desperate for the ending

and yet unwilling for it to end

and then it was over

i closed the book and sighed

i felt alone

i felt abandoned

my friends were gone

but the rhythm of their words

stayed with me