If I am a book

If I am a book:
-re-read me
-hold me close
-fold my corners, but be gentle
-read your favorite chapter at least 3 times a year
-ponder the words on the pages that are there for your consumption
-seek the meaning
-cherish the images
-read my words out loud in silly voices, in serious voices, in your voice
-ask others what they think about me, see if you agree or if you have different interpretations
-get mad about the upsetting parts
-but make sure you don't grow bitter
-remember I'm always re-writing and editing my content
-sometimes an edit is just correcting a spelling error, or replacing one word
-sometimes it's erasing a whole chapter
-but remember that sometimes those chapters need to be put into the past, read only to remind you how far I've come

If I am a book, don't set me on a self to collect dust. Take me down and keep me on your bedside table and read me when you're sad, when you're happy, when you're lonely and need a friend, or even when you're not really feeling anything at all. Take me down and let me help you feel, feel who you are, who I am, what this world holds for you and I. Because darling, this world has so many books to read, but if you choose me then I'll choose you and we'll add a little more beauty and happiness and adventure to this world.

--P.A.

Pictures- Benjamin Francis Leftwich
Collide- Howie Day