Read On

By Mark Bishop

I've got a list of favorite places

favorite foods and favorite artists

Where you went last weekend, no idea where your heart is

I can pick out your face in a hundred photos

see your age and who we both know

from these pages black and white I have the facts about your life

I can even know what hurt you

hear all about that thing you went through

how he did this, she said that and every word could be true...

But if I just learn where you've been I miss out on who you are
These periods of time aren't just dots at the end of a line
These sentences pronounced over actions and words
These paragraphs, these chapters sad endings and ever afters
are what capture the glory behind what's authored 

If I can talk about your life but haven't lived it for a minute

careful not to touch the sticky ink upon these pages or stepping out and being in it

What good are lists and likes and looks

because people are novels not textbooks