He built that library with his bare hands.
Strong and perceptive.
Wise and gentle.
A laugh that would shake the leaves off a tree,
He was a wise gentle old man.
He carved beautiful sayings into each stack
of the libraries book cases,
He painted beautiful murals in the children's hall.
He was an artist, a craftsman and a lover of
learning.
I would find him in the library late a night,
reading Nietzsche, pulling out old archives...
I studied him from a far, watching his
face light up as he soaked in new information,
inspiration.
It was two o'clock in the morning
the moon over head, the night
completely still.
The old man had died.
His wish was to die with his books,
to die with his art...
the townspeople paraded through
the streets, following the coffin,
the pallbearers taking great care.
They lifted the 'sleeping' man from his bed,
carried him to the poetry section.
Laid him on the couch
said their prayers and left.
I struck a match and tossed it into a book,
watching the fire consume the paper.
I laid the burning book in the foyer,
like a gift to the Gods...
Turning my back,
I watched as one of the most gifted men
perished in flames.
Author notes
oh....ye old writers block, why do you do this to me?
POV of librarian i suppose.
A contest entry
- When an Old Man Dies, A Library Burns Down by ea.
700 points, ended October 20, 14 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
I am trying my hardest to write something. I am suffering from horrible writers block. HONEST FEEDBACK!!!!!!
Comments
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Nice...
You painted this picture well... Good Job!
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This is a very unique take on the prompt and I have a feeling that I know who this man is or at least, I have known one like him, who built a library and would welcome such an offbeat memorial service as you present here. All things must eventually vanish, even the carved wisdom in the bookshelves. An enjoyable piece, thank you.
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Thank you ea. If you are the same ea that had a fabulous poem/song from 'long' ago I friggin LOVE YOU!!!! thank you for helping at least shine a bit of light on my muse.
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