"Reader"

"Reader"
by Billy Collins

Looker, gazer, skimmer, skipper,
thumb-licking page turner, peruser, 
you getting your print-fix for the day,
pencil-chewer, note taker, marginalianist
with your checks and X's
first-timer or revisiter, 
browser, speedster, English major,
flight-ready girl, melancholy boy,
invisible companion, thief, blind date, perfect stranger-

that is me rushing to the window
to see if it's you passing under the shade trees
with a baby carriage or a dog on a leash,
me picking up the phone
to imagine your unimaginable number,
me standing by a map of the world
wondering where you are-
alone on a bench in a train station
or falling asleep, the book sliding to the floor.