screaming letters warn

cautioning, threatening

but I lean in

revel in the reveal 

most don’t like spoilers

but I live for them

as I turn page after page.

I lose control, the story

gets away from me. 

takes its own course 

until I know the ending

and then I can brace myself

for the inevitable fall.

biographies are nice

packaged with its pre-spoiled endings

Helen Keller? 

she graduated college.

Anne Frank? 

she died.

it’s good to know before

I read a lifetime.

A messy timeline packaged into

a neat six by nine prism 

ready for someone to 

share its journey through 

the ups and downs 

of chaos. 

With each chapter there’s

A new piece to the puzzle

some are pristine, shiny pieces

others are weary, cardboard peeling

but it’s okay

because I already 

know what the puzzle will

look like when

it’s done