The Book of Youth

 If God approved of his creature's creation,
He breathed the painted clay-model into life by signing His name.

Where is a book before it is born?
Does a book grow like a tree?
Who are a books parents?
Does a book need two parents - a mother and a father?
Can a book be born inside another book?
And where is the parent book of books?

How old does a book have to be before it can give birth to another?
Do young books cry and scream if they are not read or fed?
Do they pass words with incontinent abandon?
Do they force every random found sentence into their mouths?

This book is past the first flush of youth.
It is a book that is in puberty.

It is hesitating, and from the vantage point of the mature reader,
It is both a sad and amusing reminder of the part which is not
Always attractive enough to be revisited.

The cover is becoming crisp like the hardening of wood on a young tree.
It's pages are pliable and taste a little of salt.

(The Pillow Book)