Open Me Carefully

Open me carefully, dear reader

for these ancient dusty pages frail

may crumble and sift through

your loving fingers -

Open me gently, like the dawn doth a rose

each petal delicate as a dew drop

that falls silently under night’s cloak

and burns away with the morning’s sun -

Open me tenderly, as the moon

upon midwinter snow

and whisper your wordless prayer

in my still and silent sanctuary -

Open me softly with feather-light kisses

like the beat of the butterfly’s wing

the breath of a sigh

that stirs up hurricanes -

So, open me carefully, dear reader

and pluck each line like the strings of a harp

to sing my story

then let me burn after the reading.