lost & found

lost & found
   by jodie bhattacharya

let’s get lost

in a book

just some pieces of paper, really

bound together carefully, stitched with precision

richly printed text with curls and shapes and lines

held carefully between your lettered palms

turn to the crisp first page

with the satisfying crinkle of off-white paper

1 page, 5, 10

flip, flip, flip, crackle

you don’t notice the music you’re listening to or the people around you

the only thing on your mind is the words on the page

funny, sad, scary, hopeful, thoughtful

the characters -- laughing, talking, running

what’s going to happen next? will she die? is the bad guy a good guy?

and finally,

the bittersweet moment when you close the book,

stepping away from the world you’ve just gotten lost in.

finding out that several hours have passed

but nothing in this world seems as exciting anymore.

let’s get lost

in a world that’s not our own

where the characters always manage to live happily ever after

and we somehow find a little bit of ourselves in the process.

let’s escape reality

for a while.