lenten journal: emotional support books

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emotional support books

for umberto eco
unread books were of more
value than the read ones

best for a library
to hold what you don’t know
reading is not conquest

an exercise of trust
page after page but what
then of unreading

the books that sit around
in stacks or on shelves
standing or lying down

unopened perhaps held
brought home with intention
possibilities in paperback

some find places next to
well-worn favorites
and those read more than once

I used to think I had to
justify their presence or
stop adding to the pile

Still I hear eco’s echo
reading is not conquest
I am not collecting

I am surrounding
myself with the comfort
of all I do not know.

Peace,
Milton

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