reader

Take yourself away
cling on to the letter "E" where it starts
the white spread of page, the crumb, the stain
the pressed flower
leap to the next blot of ink, tumble down the
scratches and stories, don't read-- just climb.
You are escaping an eye, a mind
wholly enmeshed in these letters, one
whose breath catches to see what new pages
might bring. Run, then, tiny spirit,
through books and books, to the end of
the story. There and only there will you
vanish --pop!-- into the safe oblivion
of the dust jacket.