An Ongoing Affair
I pick the book, put on the lamp and settle down in a cosy posture,
Coffee mug perched precariously on handrest, glance at book’s title and its author.
Drizzling rain cadences on my window as I feel the book with eyes and fingers,
Proceed on inside even as on the cover, my mind still lingers.
Pulsating excitement flooding my heart, gently flick through the pages,
Catch glimpses of random paras, ornated with quotes and phrases.
Hold both ends of book with eyes hovering, open it to a page,
Press my nose softly against it to let the olfactory nerve gauge.
Inhale deeply till each sense perceives its biblichor,
Welling up with emotions of widening horizons being entire affair’s core.
Shut it, hold close, peruse the blurb and title again and again,
Until I have it memorised like that stranger I met on the night train.
Flip to the first page, let eyes get used to its style and font,
I am not going to read it the same way again even if I want.
Begin to read the book, taking in each and every word,
Like raindrop lapped up eagerly by the thirsty Chataka* bird.
Ensue with scribbles and paraphernalia to make it more personal,
Notes, underlines, teardrops, food imprints, insignias irrevocable.
Caress it and hold it to bosom, don’t want to let go of it yet,
Sleep with it pressing against cheek, let it shadow me around like a pet.
No matter its genre…a classic, paperback or a rustic folklore,
Voila! I just had a clandestine rendezvous with my love and a lot more.
*Chataka or Jacobian cuckoo is considered harbinger of rains and in Indian mythology it is represented as a bird with a beak on its head that waits for rains to quench its thirst.
© Gomathi 2023
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A good poem in your inimitable style comparing your love for books to a passionate affair even with a subtle hint at a clandestine liaison. I came across to a word I didn’t know- biblichor – which I could not find in any dictionary but with a Google search I found the following definition in Word Nerd: Biblichor | Lawhimsy. “Biblichor is the word that describes the particular smell that belongs to old books. Biblichor is a newly created word that combines the Greek words biblio (book) with ichor (the fluid that flows like blood in the veins of the… Read more »
That is so kind of you Luigi! Humbled by your compliments..am a learner still. So glad liked it and have done some research too.. the best part of reading, I feel! Yes the words biblichor and vellichor spring up in mind when it comes to books. Owe it to scrabble, quizzing and interacting with the nextgen. Reading is such a private affair, a personal experience between the book and the reader, of course the author, his thoughts, characters too come in to play and one has to take time out in total seclusion in order to enjoy a good read.… Read more »
Wow! You really love that book, didn’t you! Only one book has happened into my life like that, and I only fell in love with it when I started reading. That book’s cover did not attract, or the blurb, so its wordy enchantment took me quite by surprise. A bit like your poem really. Clearly, your encomium suggests you experience love at first sight. 😉 Quite a read.
Blessings, Griff.
Ahh! So refreshing and good to read your lovely compliments and blessings dear Griff! Thankyou so much for letting me know about your similar escapades with a book. You have begun to know me by now. True.. I have this habit of seeing the good side of things and take it all positively..that is until it proves otherwise :)- Thankyou for the beautiful word encomium, rarely come across it.
Warm Regards, Gomathi.