cheeky bookish thoughts

Close, close all night by Elizabeth Bishop
(this poem on the underground in london.. though you never see the graphitti version actually, only the glossy clear version of it on the side of the tube... )

Close, close all night
the lovers keep.
They turn together
in their sleep,

Close as two pages
in a book
that read each other
in the dark.

Each knows all
the other knows,
learned by heart
from head to toes.


.....
but it always makes me ask ..

what if i'm a voracious reader
what if i want a pulp novel thats fast and racy
elmore leonard winking at me, and then getting over soon
with no traces the next day but a buzz, a sense
that i could turn the corner and someone with a gun smoking
and a drawl will be standing there, somewhere reminescent of
china town strung between hilarity and tragedy
- she's my sister, my daughter, my sister, my daughter

what if you want a sweet lesbian short story, what if you
want an anthology collection of lesbian erotica, what if
you want a pornographic story of O, with plots and twists
that make you cum and then leave your brain next
day wet as a sponge, unable to absorb anything except
someone murmuring.. so how is pussy cat today?

what if you want to read that favourite book again, but speed read
what if you only want to read certain chapters, or rather just
be able to say when this book prances up to you of its own will
and you reach out to it, we'll read chapter 9- the emergence of the anus

what if you want the dizzy graphic novel, with surreal images,
drunk nights and super heroes dashing into the sky to save
the world that you're desperately trying to escape

what if you want to write into a book, make notes, help it out
and tell it .. your grammer sucks man, and your sense of narration
really?? what if its a good book gone bad, or awry, atleast for you..
and you're like .. oh please, and you just let it be
.. and life happens because pages turn

what if you want that book on beauty to fall into your lap
to swivel past you in stunning glory, to fill you up as it leads
you up the steps, winks and turns to you, stands by you and yet
laughs at you and with you.. what if you then also become a book
and we nestle our pages together, sweetly turning, spooning each
other on different shelves .. and in turn and in different ways

what if you write that book into existence, what if you read
that other book into yourshelf .. what if you have a whole
library, what if there are too many interesting books
in the world that you're just dying to read, what if it
never ends, what if desire chases around and around, what if
one book never replaces another, what if tears blur the words
we read, what if our sight is always clear and is always reaching
for more....
what if it never ever ends...
and then when it seems like it might..
you can see all those movies they've made of books .. and you can start all over again..