Sonnet for Reading During Lent

Even the bookworms return to the dust.

Their collections sold at half the cost.

The dog ears, the jots in the margins,

I was here. l read this. I loved that page.

We read in search of the path to follow.

As though each word spelled out a stone,

Ascending rungs up to the spinning stars.

We read so our hearts may not be hollow.

The thoughts of others slice through to bone.

We weren't alone when we read those pages.

The table set, a feast for host and guests.

What once forgotten was no longer lost.

And though our flesh again becomes ashes,

We did not live without our chests.