Love & Books

There is no difference,
between loving someone
and reading a book.

Some books,
we browse through cursorily.
They appear boring.
We put them away.

Some books,
we preserve carefully.
Suddenly,
in a moment of awakening,
we start to read them.

Some books,
we read word by word,
time and again,
completely take them in.

Some books,
we decorate beautifully
and pore over every line.

On some books
with their delicate pages,
we hesitate to make a single mark.

There is no difference
between loving someone
and reading a book.

• Pyar te Kitaab by Satinder Noor – Translated by Karthik Venkatesh