Literary Apothecaries
‘Literary Apothecary’ - a word I read on the back of a book cover is my latest obsession.
In this book, there’s a book shop but the owner calls it literary apothecary,
He claims that books heal souls, that stories can be a powerful antidote.
There are somethings that attract you and others that are repulsive.
Then there are somethings that just resonate with you,
As if you always flowed in the same rhythm,
As if you always lived in tandem.
This word, ‘Literary Apothecary’ resonated with me in the same way.
Books have been a lot of things for me.
I read books to escape, to find answers, sometimes even to search right questions.
Through books, I have delved in the past and found a way to the future.
My books made me experience joy, feel pain and gave me a glimpse of undying love.
I found words and phrases that became my beliefs, my musings, my thoughts and even my expressions to the ones I loved.
Bibliophiles, they call us — people who love books.
But I realized my books never made me love them,
Instead, they made me fall in love with faraway lands, with the world around me, with the people around me and even with the ones who are away from me.
Sometimes my books were mirrors to see the wolves within me.
Other times they showed me a world that is out of reach for me.
On some days they opened a doorway to the labyrinth of my soul,
Other times they became a way out of my thoughts, like a much needed parole.
I realized through books we read ourselves, we read the world around us.
I realized that we are indeed books ourselves,
Waiting to be heard, waiting to be read.
I realized that we are indeed books ourselves,
Healing others and ourselves and becoming Literary Apothecaries.
I realized that we are indeed books ourselves,
Writing our own unique stories.
