The Reader
written by: Löst Viking
He would sit on his daughter’s bed,
Reading tales before she’d sleep,
About the frog that turned into a prince,
Or the fairy folk of Hazel Weep.
She would listen so attentively,
Even to those old ones she had heard before,
Then, as her little eyes slowly closed,
He’d slip quietly out the door.
Later he read in that little church,
When her mother passed away,
He chose the passages himself,
Reading them in his own exclusive way.
The Book of Psalms –with words of hope,
His voice strong, so all could hear.
‘Lord bring her to your holy mountain,
Send her light and your faithful care.’
Now she sits by her father’s bed,
Reading from his favourite books,
The poems of Yeats and Robert Frost,
“The Soldier,” by Rupert Brooks.
Over the years, the table’s turned –
As so often is the case
The listener becomes the reader,
Waiting for the other one to sleep.
©John Anthony Fingleton 2018 (Löst Viking)
DECEMBER 2020 AUTHOR OF THE MONTH at Spillwords Press
John Anthony Fingleton was born in Cork City, in the Republic of Ireland. Now living in Paraguay, South America. Poems published in journals and anthologies in Ireland, UK, USA, India and France as well as three produced plays. Poems read on Irish and American radio as well in Spanish on South American broadcasts. Contributed to four books of poetry for children. Has poems published in Spillwords, Alien Bhudda, The Red Door, Piker Press, Super Poetry Highway, The Writers Magazine, Ariel Chart, and numerous national and international journals, blogs, reviews, and anthologies. Poet of the Year (2016) Destiny Poets International Community. Poet of the Month (March 2019) Our Poetry Archive. Poet of the Month (April 2019) The League of Poets. Author of the Month (December 2020) Spillwords. First solo collection 'Poems from the Shadowlands' was published in November 2017, 'Words That Found Me' December 2019, 'Poems From The Banks' January 2020, 'Poems from a Restricted Place' April 2020, 'Secret Fjords' May 2020, 'A Gathering Of Words' June 2020, and ‘Lost Places And Other Poems’ January 9th 2021. All which are available on Amazon.
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