slip-sliding away…..

Life is often too full, and we can end up just jumping from one task to the next – especially during weekdays. As an antidote to the constant pull of activity, each Tuesday, I hope to post a poem here – inviting you to take just a few minutes to slow down and step outside the busy-ness.

Childhood Love Rediscovered

Do you remember
the first time you went to the library?
The colours all around.
The oceans of words and pictures
just waiting
for you to dive into.

Adventures of children
who braved more than you ever thought you could,
in lands frozen and treacherous.
Or escapes up magical trees
to places unheard of.

What about choosing your own path
in adventures with multiple fates?
And wicked witches gathering,
or magical chocolate factories
you’d give anything to visit.

These make-believe worlds
so passionately brought to life
by names that felt foreign:

~ CS Lewis
~ Roald Dahl
~ Enid Blyton
~ Sue Townsend
and so many, many more.

Did you try your hand at writing?
Dream of one day doing the same?
Or were you content to simply consume?
Immerse yourself,
escape the dull surrounds of reality,
to worlds far more attractive.

Either way,
these books
became your friends –
even if no one else would
in the world your physical eyes could see.

They opened your mind,
held your imagination…
kept you up at night,
because how could you sleep
without knowing what happened next?

And though adolescence
and adulthood
eventually drowned the passion,
know that books will never die,
come back to them….just try.

Put aside
the screens,
escape
from commercial fiends.
Block out the worry,
curl up
with a story.

Note: This poem was originally published in May 2023.

Image source: Newburyport Public Library