If you read a poem

through and through,

if you memorize by heart

if you can recite it word for word,

is it not that it is part of you?

If you read a book,

through and through,

notice

an alternate universe unfolding,

spilling all it's secrets to you.

If you read a book or a poem,

you are reading an author's craft.

A book is always handmade,

touched and kissed

by the author's heart.