In Greek mythology, the god of love, Cupid,
is the counterpart of Thanatos, the god of death.
You’re probably thinking, that’s an odd pair.
The Greeks were all about odd pairs.
Are you really surprised?
Because love is contentment and happiness.
Whereas death,
Well, no one really wants to talk about that.
But these obviously contradictory themes
Are more similar than we think.
One, At some point we’re gonna experience either.
Two, you don’t want to experience either on your own.
No one wants to die alone
Nor have unrequited love.
And three, the sensations of both are eerily similar.
Now I know why you take my breath away
And why my heart palpitates
whenever I see you;
The same sensations that someone gets
When they’re having a cardiac arrest.
Falling in love is like being on the precipice of death
Maybe that’s why they call it “falling” in love
Because when you fall from something,
You will splat on the ground,
With your insides out there for someone to see
And you’re wondering
if they like what they see.

Oh to journey to a far away place,
Never leaving the safety of my home.
The plot escalates, my heart starts to race.
When I read a book, my mind’s free to roam.

Oh to place myself in another’s shoes,
Like dueling a troll in an epic fight,
Or flying on a broomstick, if I choose.
I can view the world in a different light.

No matter the plot, or the length of the tale,
Finishing a book’s like losing a friend.
Even reading at the pace of a snail,
The best of stories still come to an end.

The narrative becomes a part of you.
It allows you to view the world anew.