Thursday Thoughts: Where I read
in the passenger seat of my mom's car
where sometimes I rev my mental engines
and race through page after page
hurtling through an imaginary world
as quickly as I am hurtling through a real one
and sometimes I just end up talking to my mom
my book in my lap, unopened
but keeping me company all the same.
I read
splayed out on the couch
in comically uncomfortable postures
legs crossed, or leaning on one elbow
never quite sitting still
my sibling exclaiming while playing video games on the television
but the only thing that distracts me is my own mind
and even then, the best of books hold my attention
for hours.
I read
in the pitch-black darkness before bed
booklight shining
knees pulled up toward me
the night peaceful and not chilling
and even though I am going to stop reading,
I read a page more
and another page
and another
until bedtime arrives
just "leaning late and reading there," as Stevens said.
I read
the front flaps of books
at the bookstore
wondering why in the world
the young adult section
is practically a stage in the middle of the store
with a metaphorical spotlight glaring down on me
and yet I keep going back
braving the stares
that are a figment of my own imagination
and buying new worlds
to live in for a week or so.
I read
through the eyes
of my father
who would read us poems he loved before bed
poems that meant something to him
but, we knew, didn't have to mean something to us
for him to keep reading
his voice the rhythm of ocean waves
or the eyes
of my sibling
who doesn't like the books I recommend
even though I keep recommending them anyway
and who reads them
because it means something to me
or even the eyes
of other book lovers,
who read differently than I do
with different stories
different opinions
so many different ways of loving the same thing.
But perhaps most of all
I do not read
in any one place
location
or mindset.
I read
wherever the story takes me.
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I hope you enjoyed that poem, an original one by me and the very first poem I've ever shared on this blog! I'm not sure what compels me to use proper punctuation in prose writing and then to completely give up on commas in poetry, but here we are.
Where do you tend to get your reading done? Let me know in the comments below!
And don't forget that there's still time to enter in the Summer 2021 Book Giveaway, featuring signed and unsigned MG/YA books for you to win!
Very nice. I read pretty much like you do -- any where, any time I can find a little time. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I definitely understand trying to cram reading time into whenever you have a spare second! Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteCompletely! You're a poet! You're could write a novel in verse.
ReplyDeleteI read in a comfy chair,
never in bed,
and I need quiet.
But once the book
draws me in,
I'll read
anywhere,
even with noise
in the background.
The way you wrote that poem, without punctuation, is the way many authors write novels in verse. I stick with punctuation! I love punctuation.
Thank you so much! I think reading Everywhere Blue this last week made me want to try my hand at a poem too. And I love the short one you included in your comment! I really do love punctuation as well—I'm not sure why my brain immediately stops using it in poetry. Weird. Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!
DeleteWonderful!!! (applause!) Poetry seems like a mystical world to me, so I am very impressed. That was both beautiful and enlightening!
ReplyDeleteI mostly read in bed. I need a nap because of my chronic illness, so before naptime and before bedtime, I prop myself up on pillows and lose myself in a book. I am usually so busy trying to get things done that my reading is only in bed, but occasionally - on a sick day or when we're camping - it's a huge indulgence to just read in the middle of the day. What freedom that is!
Thanks for sharing your poetry and your thoughts -
Sue
2021 Big Book Summer Challenge
Thank you so much—I appreciate your kind comments! And that makes a lot of sense—reading in bed is always nice! But I can definitely understand how fun it is to read in the middle of the day too—especially when you have a book you're desperate to get back to! Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!
Delete