i remember the days i fled to the pages of books like a sanctuary. i made home of their stories when i had nowhere else to live, and i shut the world out as i fell into the pleasures of my only happiness.
i remember the time i thumbed through a bible behind the tall shelves lined with books. the air outside had been so cold that my hands were as numb as the rest of me. the one line i read was 'no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind' before i rolled my first cigarette. the words were burned away by my lighter's flame, and i coughed with each inhale until my throat was raw and my eyes watered.
i remember when my library days grew nonexistent. my readings grew few and far between but i still parted your lips nightly and indulged in my favorite story. i liked that it was never told the same way, though it gave me something familiar to grip in my fingertips. i didn't have to return you for the next person to read; you were mine.
or so i thought.
September 5, 2020 Painting by unknown
Comments