What Place do Books Have?
Reading is liberation from ignorance.
It’s redemption
And draws attention
To experiences through new or familiar eyes.
Picking up a book took curiosity and courage
Reading it took patience.
A relationship is formed with the speaker when we dive into their world.
The writer takes us on journey as we tango over arches and status quo’s, all the way to the last page.
Where their catharsis ends and my desire for assimilation begins.
My world shifted when I entered the realm of shared experiences,
Perceiving that the things we share are often more important than things we don’t.
Black writers helped me decipher the relationship with my skin
And the sour taste of our culture that stretches across seas and purifies dreams
In little minds.
Those stories were birthed from real experiences in their time -
Over 50 years later a young Black British girl was experiencing something similar,
And I saw her in those chapters. Her silence was loud.
A book gave the gift of insight into the “angriest black man in America”.
The first read was eye opening and the second was almost like recalling a moment from memory.
We pass down these books like passing the figurative baton to those behind us.
Seasons of knowledge for potentiality to bloom into greatness,
And how will I get to use this?
The way a writer conceptualises and shares, is miraculous
Strengthening bonds between generations.
Personally,
Reading books is like holding hands with history,
And recognising the seeds that are growing in my present.
History, no matter where or when it takes place, replicates.
Therefore, truth telling leaves room for genuine connection
So that obliviousness does not consume us.
The place books have in my world is crucial, and
Holds a purpose that is greater than me alone.