Introducing a new series of poems by Julian Matthews. Julian is a writer and Pushcart-nominated poet published in The American Journal of Poetry, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Borderless Journal, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Dream Catcher Magazine, Live Encounters Magazine, Lothlorien Poetry Journal and The New Verse News, among others. He is a mixed-race minority from Malaysia and lived in Ipoh for seven years. Currently based in Petaling Jaya, he is a media trainer and consultant for senior management of multinationals on Effective Media Relations, Social Media and Crisis Communications. He was formerly a journalist with The Star and Nikkei Business Publications Inc
Link: https://linktr.ee/julianmatthews
By Julian Matthews
I could be the book you so wanted,
that you saved all month to buy
and finally got a hold of
You savour me in your soft hands,
smell my freshness, the subtle hint
of warm vanilla, my woody undertone
You fondle my dust jacket, then remove it,
lay your smooth fingers on my engraved spine
That first turn of the first page
all curled up, a cosy night of reading,
back against firm wall, blanket up to waist
and the habit you picked up, where you place
your finger in your mouth, light saliva on index
to turn the corner of each page, its wetness lingering
like a half-remembered kiss, crisp, moist
and tender, lips quivering, eyes enthralled
How your irises glide from side to side,
bright, twin orbs dilating, picking up cues
in the story, stroking your imagination,
warming up to the intrigue, adrenaline rising,
each end-chapter another cliff-hanger,
words begging you to go on, and on
and not stop – please don’t stop –
How you would be seduced by the
characters, even begin to love them,
their mannerisms, idiosyncrasies,
dress them prettier in your mind’s eye
How you could relate to one’s brazen attitude,
another’s sarcasm, be annoyed at another’s
naïveté, adopt them as your own, with curious
wonder, be suspicious of the too-obvious
villain, the red herrings, the heroine’s savvy,
sharp thoughts melding with yours, wishing
you were a writer too, how you could weave
words together, dream up plots, entwine form
and style just like her, and be a bestseller,
beloved, famous, signing autographs,
at launches, cavorting with the literati,
clinking champagne glasses on a yacht,
a moonlit backdrop, and another author
spies you from afar, eyes locking
across the room, a mutual yearning,
and a sensual promise of a night
you will never forget, rising to a climax
as your eyelids flutter and slowly shut
as, I, the book slides off your hands
and lands contentedly, flaccid, spent
in a soft, gentle thud on the floor
First published in Lit Shark’s Best Of 2024 Anthology, available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/cQ1e3su
