JOY OF READING
Written by Joan Rowden Hart
I sit in my office and look at my treasure
Stacked row upon row, the source of my pleasure
There is wealth beyond measure everywhere that I look
So many shelves, filled with book after book.
So many words that tell so many stories
So many volumes just full of God’s glory
So many reminders of our history and then
So many narratives of women and men
Who have experienced life with all of its trials,
And still write the words that will cause me to smile,
Who have struggled with failure and rose up again
And made me forget my own troubles and pain.
So many thoughts, written with deep meditation
Shared with those who will read with great contemplation
Thoughts that I by myself could never create
Are given to me in abundance so great
Free for the taking, but not enough time
To just sit and enjoy other’s thoughts so sublime.
There’s so much to learn hidden deep in those tomes
Of other men’s travels while we stay in our homes
There is poetry and mystery and beauty so rare
There are cookbooks and joke books, and this is my prayer
That I live long enough to enjoy them all
As I look at the bookshelves adorning my wall
So let me die happy with a book in my hand
As I cross that wide river to heaven’s fair land
As I breathe my last breath, let me take one more look
And say Please wait Lord while I read one more book.
©Joan Rowden Hart 2017
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