my lovers

i sleep with books.

each is a mistress. a lover,
a wife.

i place them
beside me on the bed.
beneath a pillow.

on the nightstand.
they are in easy reach.

the words are comforting
in the shallow light
of morning.

the twilight of dusk.
they keep me warm. they keep
me
alive.

I've never known love
like them before.

they give and give and give.
and ask
for little in return.

just read me, they say,
please read me again.

which i adore.