A Book Is in the Eye of the Beholder

Some eyes look inside a book 
and see hell’s dark, deep water 
with words shaped like a barbed hook 
meant to catch and not release 
innocent souls swimming by. 

Other eyes see a bright white 
landscape under a sunrise 
so pure it might be heaven 
whose black markings are signposts 
directing travelers deep 
inside their core where readers 
are challenged to find and face 
hopes and fears, ideas and dares. 

How you behold any book 
is the story you believe 
before looking inside it. 

The only ones harmed by books 
are the same who fear and hate 
those that appear different, 
who they avoid like vermin 
oozing contagious disease 
but are more human than they. 

It is their fear that hurts them 
not the feared ones or the books. 
It is their hate that blinds them 
to the souls of their brethren. 

“Look to one’s own eyes,” He said. 
There is venom in the eye 
of an unkind beholder.