A Gift

Silken velum,
church podium Bible-size
volumes, two: each
four inches thick.
Slickery pages that slip
off fingers every bit as the words
slide off the tongue of one
who has mastered
the Bard's works.

Published
London, England
anno domini 1778

Impossibly tiny print
even if it wasn't being perused
by one with old eyes.
But I know these words
so well, the brain makes up
for aged eyesight.

Full color, embellished artwork,
gilded in the gold of the age.
Intricate, detailed drawings
of the elusive Puck,
of blinded Lear,
of hollow-eyed Yorick,
of faery kings.

Buttery-soft leather binding,
protects sonnets and songs.
The play's the thing and
this foolish mortal
couldn't be happier.