I read them
to sleep
a few days past
World Read Aloud Day
this much to the hilarity
of their educator

Harry Potter and
The Philosopher’s Stone
did the deed
for a class of learners
in the little village
(and not in dozy parliament)

this I did
with Albert Einstein
the Beatles’ John Lennon
and a barefoot youth
all on a poster

Lennon saying: Imagine
Einstein saying: Imagination
is more important
than knowledge

and the barefoot youth is
peering through a tin can
perhaps imagining a career

as a film director
as a photographer
as a civil engineer
as a stargazer

I tell them I read
the book aloud
to myself
imagining

They then put
their heads down
and soon there is
a calm quiet

I read them
to sleep