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