"Paper Eater"

“Paper Eater” 

I’ve become a Paper Eater

And it’s all because of you.

I have gone through many notebooks,

Journals, books, and diaries too

Consuming them all completely

Just like flames would

The cigarettes in your hand

In the darkening afternoon.

My fingers have been eroded 

Cut lightly and ink-stained

From all the pages I have turned

Over the years impatiently.

You were the one who firstly placed 

A pencil in my expecting hands

And taught me that all my dreams 

Would come true with this magic wand.

My eyes, who very kindly have 

For 15 years perceived 

Combinations of the alphabet 

Creating worlds of fantasy

Now require the assistance 

Of spectacles, like yours.

Had I not used them all that much

Perhaps they would still be intact 

But, how could I ever stop myself 

From reading after dark?

My brain has learned the difference 

It makes to make a well composed

And eloquent thought

Instead of shouting and breaking bones.

You always said the wisest ones

Would listen before they spoke

And when they did, they did so sure,

Because “you’re not more than anyone,

But no one is more than you”

So with these words of wisdom 

And a bunch of other tales

I was enthralled 

And became who I am today.

A creature that lives 

Among libraries and bound spines 

But gets lost in other worlds,

And creates some of her own.

A creature that can crystallize

Her tears into diamonds

And weave them into jewelry 

Made of poetry and songs.

Someone with a deep

And unearthly love for words.

Someone who appreciates 

All the knowledge in this world,

Has a curious mind

And loves the smell of books.

I’ve become a Paper Eater, 

And it’s all because of you.