Featured in the 2021 Winter Issue of Rambunctious
Firstly Paloma Arena, '25 Dear Readers, What’s your favorite book? You can’t pick, can you? There’s a pit opening up in your stomach, Swallowing your choices Betray, or be betrayed Characters swirling and Grasping and reaching To be picked Hundreds of thousands of personalities Clawing at the crevices of your thoughts It’s not a matter of which book, though It’s a matter of which person Who are you going to be? Today, to this person, forever maybe Choose wisely And remember, whatever you say Will leave you thinking about it all day Are you willing to go back And be devoured by a world you can’t leave? So, what’s your favorite book? Or, should I say, who are you today? Or maybe the question should be, what reality are you in now? Perhaps I should ask you why? That’s a good one, no? Why? What made you pick up a book for the first time? Was it an assignment? Was it a road trip? What was that spark? That little flame that exploded into life That grew and grew and grew... Consuming you desperately Until all that was left was the next book Where did the, dare I say, Addiction Start? What a question to ask To a reader I’m sure you don’t know the answer I don’t, probably won’t ever But that’s not so important Is it Is it? I suppose the important thing is how you got so good At escaping Escaping to a fantasy Teach me sometime, yeah? One moment you’re here And the next the rest of us don’t exist And don’t get me wrong, I do it too But there’s something about the way you do it It’s intoxicating Those realities are real to you We can’t convince you otherwise Maybe you’re onto something But that’s besides the point The point is you’re good at what you do And I think it’s the best thing in the world When you watch someone escape It’s like the air is filled with glitter And you can’t help but sigh and smile And let the sugary air seep into your soul But anyway One day maybe Just maybe I’ll be able to create a world like that A world that saves you from reality But alas, I’ve reached the end of my thoughts Of the time I have with you I hope one day, you find a world you never want to leave Ever, ever, ever Sincerely, A Writer