MISSING CHAPTERS

I cannot accept this book from you.
It will call to me too much
and remind me of what was left behind
when I accepted it.
A book has a life and a soul
and I cannot sacrifice either
for my own comfort.
This book is an attachment to a special intimacy
and it can't be given away or destroyed
without dire consequences.
To part with such a friend as this book
would be like sacrificing a child at a pagan altar
and seeing its life force draining away
while one stands by helplessly
wishing for a reprieve.
Each Page, each paragraph, each sentence or word
holds the promise for clarifying the questions
imagined by the author
and you want to share this intimacy with me.
The book you are offering me
holds your story and mine.
The final chapters are missing
and there is no resolution.
it is an intriguing read,
powerful and engrossing,
but it stops before the end is reached
and I can imagine too many endings.

Jim Morgan   August 19, 2012