Bed Book Nagging

Eyelids heavy, on downward slide.
Tired, slender fingers close the book and...

"What are you doing?"

"I'm exhausted... Eyes closing...
Going to sleep... Tomorrow..." And

her left hand holding the book,
swings to the nightstand...

"Stop!... I can't believe it...
You can't get passed page nine..."

Swing never completed,
book and hand left hanging,
now on return path...

"I told you, I'm tired!..."

"Tired?...
You've read me ten, fifteen times, maybe more...
From start to finish, in one sitting...
As many hours as it took..."

"You were my favorite..."

"I were?... I were???... And, now, I'm not?..."

"Don't get excited... I didn't mean that..."

It felt her hands tremble... It trembled, too...

"Come clean, then... The truth...
I'm an old book, I can handle it..."

She sighed, holding it tight against her breasts...

"Truth is
you're not what you used to be...
No more offerings of new discoveries...
No more epiphanies...
No more hints of hidden meanings..."

She sighed, again...
It paused long...

"Fair enough...
Go to sleep...
If you ever need me, you know the bookcase spot.
Between my siblings, "House Of The Dead" and "Crime & Punishment"...