Belles Lit

They taught book love—
Not how to read,
Not how to write,
Not how to be

Smart. Love. Book love.
That’s all it was.
There were those who,
Not them, taught facts

And rules, and thoughts,
Or what could pass
For this or that.
Those were the wise.

These were the fools,
The fools who loved
Books, fools who longed
For us to, too.