STILL PROUD TO BE A SLOW READER

 

 

I am an avid reader now, but when I was younger…years ago

In school my teacher admonished me because I read so slow.

 

It was there and then I learned words have the power to make one feel small 

because for a long time after she said that…I didn’t like to read at all.

 

But as I grew I began to look at reading through a wiser set of eyes.

I saw how reading slowly…rather than a handicap…is a blessing in disguise.

 

When I open a book I never know what adventure is waiting there for me

It might be a drama…a comedy…a mystery…or perhaps a little of all three.

 

I Immediately embark on a journey in the author’s capable hands

where each page becomes a stepping stone into another land.

 

Once I turn to the first page…the adventure doth begin

and from the comfort of my bed I visit places I’ve never been

 

I can journey to exotic sites, witness untold beauty so sublime...

It’s even possible in a book to go traveling through time!

 

I can help solve a difficult crime, know what’s lingering behind that door

I can feel the joy of love as it emerges…or the horrors of a war.

 

Which brings me back to reading slowly… 

As I journey from the present, to the future…and into and out of the past,

from one world to the next…why would I want to travel fast?

 

No, I prefer to take my time…so now my reading follows this simple plan

I slowly enter into a book and…if I love it…I linger there as long as I can.

 

So to that teacher who all those years ago, wished my reading skills were stronger….

know that I am happy reading slowly…because the joy lasts that much longer.

 

And to all you other slow readers out there…never feel self-conscious…never think it’s something you should hide…

because slowly experiencing every moment…in a book…as in life

is the best way to enjoy the ride.

 

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