Sunlight and Air

it takes years for the pages of my favourite books

to age into their perfect shade

from almost-white sun

a haze disappearing into blindness

to over-brewed tea

a warmth spreading into sore limbs

even hidden away

pages can be exposed to sunlight and air

consuming the paper into cold amber

I’m looking for the perfect shade of time

to match my complexion

sleep deprived and deep in the winter of my mind

with just a ray of light shining through the blinds

and fossilized words, words much like mine

away from prying eyes

even hidden away

words can be exposed to sunlight and air

old embers slowly turning my favourite pages to silence

I can wait with my consuming book

until too much air, too much light

stain me into wordlessness

or I can keep looking for myself

a broken tint of books flung wide open

no matter how long the ink has settled on the page

no matter how long the word has settled on the shelf

no sun nor breath to betray me

as I can be

flying sparks over the bonfire

combusting away in a second

or resin left from a long forgotten tree

leaving stories for others to see

it takes years for the pages of my life

to write themselves in honey

wide and soft open field laying in the summer

but I’m not looking anymore for my

perfect shade of brokenness

to spill through the blinds

into my life

I'm simply letting

the hues of sunlight and air

consume me

expose me