This poem was inspired by Rosemarie Uquico's poem "Date A Girl Who Reads."

The girl who reads is the girl sitting in the back of class with a book in her hand,  her head down, with a look of concentration on her face. She's the girl with a scowl on her face at the end of class, not because of the homework assignment, but because the characters in her book didn't do what she wanted. She's the girl who will walk into the next class, book still in hand, eyes still down, but a bright smile on her face, maybe even biting her lip, because the characters did what she wanted. She’s passionate.

She's the girl who walks into the bookstore and stops at the front door to look around with a smile on her face because this is her Disneyland. This is her paradise. She'll know exactly what she came for and walk briskly and with determination to a section of her choice. She'll pick up Sparks, Austen, Day, James, Rowling, or even Tolstoy and sit happily with a smile on her face even though she hasn't opened the book. She knows that the book starts with it's cover, not "chapter 1." The cover should sum up the book entirely. She savors the image before opening up the flap and diving into a new world. She’s adventurous.

She's the girl on her phone, sitting at a vacant table, fingers moving up and down, side to side, scrolling through the pages of a new book, not a text message. She's reading on her phone because the amount of money it would cost to pay for all the worlds she reads would cost her a fortune if she were to purchase them in book form, so she downloads them wherever she can for free. Piracy is her best friend. She’s her own person.

If you watch her closely, you can see what's happening in that book she's reading, and who it's by. If she bites her lip, the hero said something romantic and she's imagining someone saying it to her. It's Sparks . If she changes her legs and fidgets in her chair, the hero has done something naughty and she’s in a red room. It's E.L.James. If she smiles brightly and even nods her head, she’s in the middle of a lovers quarrel. It's Austen. If she reads with concern and strain, she's pondering a new philosophy. It's Tolstoy.
She’s transparent.

If she looks up from her book and notices you, smile. She'll be shocked at first that you’re looking at her, thinking you think she's weird, but that smile will show her you're intrigued. Sit at her table and ask her what she's reading. If you've read it, tell her your opinion but don't spoil the ending. Ask what she thinks so far. If you haven't read it, ask what it's about and still ask what she thinks so far. If she gives clipped, but thought out responses, she wants to keep reading. If she doesn't keep looking down at her book, she wants you to stay, so sit there patiently, tell her to continue reading and wait for her, watch her, admire her, because at some point she'll need to stop. She’s shy

Get her number. Take her out on a date. Be cheesy. She’ll know that her life is becoming like one of her beloved books and she’ll relish in it all. She’s understanding.

You'll fall in love with a girl who reads because there won't be a dull moment with her. If she loves you too, she'll share every moment of Day, Austen, Cummings, and Tallis with you, going on and on about the main characters. She’ll entertain you with her passion about what Gideon said to Eva. She’ll humor you with her anger at how Darcy took forever to realize how he felt about Elizabeth. She’ll surprise you when she starts alluding to how curious she is about how it feels to belong to Christian Grey. She'll amaze you with her attention to detail. She’ll move from a colloquial language when talking about the weather, to an elegancy as if she’s reading about it in a book. She’s different.

She'll be a world of adventure. She'll surprise you with plane tickets to Italy because she wants to see the place where Dante first saw Beatrice. She'll take you to London and show you where Dorian fell. She'll drive you across country to New York to look at buildings that would match the Crossfire and she'll hold your hand all the while, making you her Dante, but not at a distance, her Gideon, but not broken, and warning you not to be a Dorian. She’s hopeful.

Marry the girl who reads because her wedding vows will be inspired by Sparks and Austen. She'll wake up to you with a smile on her face and love you with the passion she's learned to harbor from her characters. She’ll make you think that soulmates really exist, and she’ll make it seem as if your lives are printed on paper between two beautiful covers. When you’re down  and won’t admit your pain, she'll bring up themes from her tragedies, and jokes from her comedies. She'll recite Shakespeare when she's feeling low, Austen when she's feeling traditional, Greene when she's feeling philosophical, and Day when she's horny. When she’s feeling romantic, She’ll risk blowing up the kitchen, set up a table with candles and play music for when you walk in the front door from work. She’ll pretend to know how to do the salsa because she read about it in a book. Let her have her fun, and just marvel at how she concentrates on the steps, repeating the words to herself and trying to translate them into a guide book. When she realizes that she can’t, just smile at her, kiss her, and just rockstep with her. Accept her for all her quirks and how she goes the extra mile to make you smile. She’s in love.

She'll be the perfect mother to your kids. She'll read them Dr.Seuss when they're young. She'll slip your daughter Twilight to teach her how not to act, Pride and Prejudice to show her how to speak, and a journal and pen for her to decide how to be. She'll let your children grow on their own, and love them with all her heart no matter what color they dye their hair, what part of their body gets pierced, or where they get that tattoo because she knows that they are just developing into the person they will become. She knows how crucial the development of characters are, and she'll let your characters become who they are meant to be, and love them no matter what.
She’s a mother.

Choose the girl who reads because she isn't just the girl who reads. She's the girl who’s lived a thousands lives, except her own.

Choose the girl who reads, and hand her your book, telling her it's missing its heroine, because her book has yet to find its hero.