he is aware of
his cracked spine
yellowed pages
lined with faded ink
around the margins
black and white
illustrations
long out of date

filled with words
he knows intimately
like a lovers embrace
in bold typeface
yet never has he
experienced
the full definiton
except from afar

he is a walking dictionary
a repository made flesh
a daydream catamaran
floating listlessly alone
knowing all of
the perfect words
yet never able to
speak them aloud