THE JOY OF READING ON SCOTT'S FRONT PORCH
It was a free day so there I sat
cuppa hot tea on the side
reading, simply reading
The Thorn Birds, by Colleen McCullough
a priest is being tempted to no avail
by the wealthiest woman in New South Wales
I check the frontispiece for a map of
Australia, none there, while I sit behind
arbor vitae that shields me from view.
Nothing in the whole precious world is better
than to be able to read. Once, after my nervous breakdown
my eyes and brain had forgotten how. Do not desert me
and even when we go to the shore, I can read
most anywhere.