The Atomic Mage

Poem: Love Me Like a Book

I am the dust jacket, the elegant obi strip,

The first edition which seduced you.

I am the blurb and the praise which promised to thrill.

I am the quote upon whose shoulders I stood

And tempted you with flavours, spices, petals

Scattered on lakes of swans and mayflies.

I am the opening words which reeled you in like a fish.

I am chapters I, II and III and by which time

You have found me irresistible to put down.

I am in your palms, in your bed,

Away with you on vacation.

I am the protagonist and antagonist of your dreams

And your desires, and that which you divine by my acts.

My word, in all truth, I am your lover;

The first person narrative making love to you

In the second person, suspending your disbelief

While the plot begins to thicken.

Then one day…

I am the book you put down for later,    

The skipping of chapters, a plot hole as deep as a crater.

I am the unreliable narrator, unnecessary adverb,

The disappointing ending relinquishing all glamour

For a dog-eared cover and pages foxed.

I am destined for the cardboard box,

A trip to a high street charity shop, or worse –

Scribbled over by a child, pages torn out to light a fire,

Employed as a weapon to kill a spider,

Or just chucked in the bin without the consolation

Of knowing I might be recycled for something useful.

Alas, for me, there will be no sequel,

No trilogy, no adaptation, no making it into

Your Top Ten List.

There will be no twist.

This is the end.

Editor’s note: My poem Love Me Like a Book is inspired by the short poem Omission written by fellow WP blogger Cassa over at Flicker of Thoughts. Please check it out.

Ford

Love Me Like a Book poem by Ford 17 May 2021

Love Me Like a Book artwork – collage, acrylic paint and digital render by Ford 17 May 2021

21 comments

  2. A cord has been struck…
    The A and the Ω…
    The painting with the poem dance with each other like the main theme and the response from an orchestra towards an emotional crescendo…
    Well done is an understatement, Tan Cymreig.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you my dear Wizard. The A to Z life of a book, and a final love?
      Was so tempted to give it a positive ‘final twist’ as I love ‘happy endings’, but Jacob earlier was correct to point out the brutality of the piece, and (in this instance) it needed it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • I am glad you resisted the temptation…cause when a Mage casts his spell it should be a mirror…and if the reflection is cruel as life, then so be it.
        What other way is there towards transforming what is?

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        • So true. Reflections should be as cruel as the life standing in front of the glass if indeed they are cruel.
          You know, I am still sad about the story you relayed to me recently which was close to your home – and it made the British news today too. How do we – as artists sensitive to human suffering – process this in our work, if not now but later? I want to say/do something, but don’t know how…

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  5. Hi Mage, oh wow…it’s the Yin and the Yang, the light and the dark…the inside and outside of a book! I think you covered everything a book could and should be right here.
    Just a quick question tho…. I have an “Obi Sash” on my Jedi costume (the horizontal cloth belt/cumberband beneath the leather belt) so does that make me elegant?
    Great work and art as always. thanks for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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