Eat this Book

Mark Strand, in his famous poem, writes:

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.

We look to another author for how the words might taste and where the words go once we eat them:

Son of man...eat this book... And I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that book.  And he said to me:  Son of man, thy belly shall eat, and thy bowels shall be filled with this book, which I give thee.  And I did eat it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. (Ezekiel 3:1-3)

Words, sweet as honey in the mouth, move to the belly and the bowels, into the innermost parts of our bodies, to be transformed into energy for our bodies and spirits.

I, too, have had the experience of eating words, eating books.  The best of them are like ambrosia, food of the gods.  My heart quickens as I read, and I can feel my heart filling with soul-energy.

I don't want to do less in my own writing.  A great compliment would be for someone to say of my writing:  "I just ate it up."