Open Book

by Paul Hellweg

Most nights I sleep
with a dozen or so books
makes me feel less alone
and yeah
fuck right
I’d rather sleep
with
one woman
than a dozen books,
but books don’t
need anything,
they don’t give a shit
about my
low self-esteem
performance anxieties
night terrors,
and they don’t leave
in the middle of the night,
so until I meet someone
willing to read
all my pages
without critical commentary
and
open to offering the same,
until then,
my fate is destined to remain
more literary
than
satiated
satisfied
or
tolerable.