you have to understand
you must read me very carefully
place me in your hand,
under lamplight,
in the quaint corners of this small house that was once home
you can still see my smile
if you flip to the first page
you can still hear my laugh
thoughout this book, I marked it more than once
you can still touch my skin
within the bindings of the paper
and on the last page, you can see
the little girl you wrote so eloquently