The Book Lover

THE BOOK LOVER Some women pine for silks and pearls Some shop away their hours But I’ve a book-hound in my blood Preferring books to flowers Each page I touch With loving hand I trace the print snug there The whitest page grants me delight The yellow brings despair The old bookshops on dusty streets Are storehouses of dreams They guard the dancing continents And trolls that bridge the streams And for each story hidden there Mid pages silken glories An offering of bouncing tales replace bland bedtime stories And on this paper Fine or rough my fingers gently roam Safely in these books I find my place-- And build myself a home. Victoria Anderson-Throop Juja, Kenya