I stopped reading yesterday
stopped cold
just like that
the book in hand
was by Elio Vittorini
but it wasn’t that
or Orhan Veli
or Su Tung-p’o
or Mark Strand
or Anna Ahkmatova
no, it wasn’t them
or anyone else
it was this sadness
hovering over me
and the books
didn’t help
so I stopped
cold turkey
had 2 shots
of whiskey
sat on the balcony
looked up at the sky
watched the gulls
who came calling
then got up
went out for some fresh pasta
a bottle of wine
and mostly drunk
came home
picked up a book
again
and ended my foolishness
closed my eyes
fell asleep
with books
beside me
reading themselves
my dear friends