Novels Poem by Albert Ahearn

They huddle on shelves like sardines
crammed in cans
even hungry paper lice are prevented
entry into their literary leaves.
Novels are an aggregate of grey matter
whose ingenuities maw muted
narratives for willing eyes;
Taking us vicariously through fictional
Plots unfolded by actions, speech and thoughts
of fictional characters at our leisure.
An immortal genre whose fame is enduring
as long as there exist authors that write them
and well-read people who read them.