To read is to learn
To grow
To turn
Page after page until it's over
Leaning at the cliff's edge
To see the heart wrenching cliffhanger
That destroys us

To read is to laugh
To giggle
To squeal
About the un-sinking ships we love
They float and hold hands
Lean on friends' burdened shoulders
And exist intimately

To read is to love
To hate
To want
Every one of the pages to come alive
Unfurl from its binding and kiss you goodnight
With the caress of a hero's tale
Absorbing your tears

To read is to live
To act
To be
The savior of a world in an undying tale
The villain rips out your soul
He kills what you love and what is real
So you die with it

To read is too much to be described
Too much to be explained
Too much to understand
Unless you do it too
Unless you learn, laugh, love, and live
While we join you in tears
Broken too badly for it to be real
What we read kills us
But it makes us feel.