We build ourselves a fortress of books,
an empire of strengths and weaknesses,
of human qualities and wishes from dandelions
turned loose in the spring.
We create tower among tower of bridges,
foundations,
a roof over our heads and cement under our feet,
to preserve and protect the knowledge we try so hard to gain.
We construct it with calloused hands,
just to let the waves splash down,
dragging away the castle that means nothing to an endless sea
but life, death, and everything in between to us.
Nevertheless, we build it up again with
stronger walls and a harder core,
based on pure determination and an iron will,
and the comprehension of how these concepts can help
to prevail.
The opportunity of knowing,
the privilege of understanding,
stands just beyond the invisible window,
just out of reach.
But our arms are strained,
beads of sweat lining our foreheads,
because we are not content with being ignorant.
Knowledge of what is inside,
outside,
from foreign lands to uncharted territories
and the most common places that still stand as mysteries
infest our brains and do not stand to be pushed out.
The information that feeds our minds
like delicacies and homemade meals
comes from the observations of the people around us,
reading the drawn and joyous faces
like the books with worlds of words concealed,
waiting for us to unlock them with one of a set of keys.
Phrases and emotions catch
gusts of wind
that whistle through the air,
leaving seeds that blossom
into life-changing ideas and ground-breaking actions.
We dig them up and replant these seeds in our own pots
of hard-packed clay with cracks that somehow stay strong
despite all the caring and replanting.
Knowledge flits around like a young child's pupils,
taking all possible sights in
and gifting rich soil in return
to plant ideas that can grow into something
beautiful.
To be ignorant may be bliss,
but to have knowledge is to be powerful,
though power is not all too important.
To have knowledge is to be free,
floating among clouds of everlasting strength,
to break from the heavy shackles that bind us to the earth.
To have knowledge is to be kind and reasonable,
the soft scolding voice of a mother who knows
what is right for her sons and her daughters.
To have knowledge is to transform the world
into a place where no boundaries limit us,
where we bounce from land to land,
only stopping to drink in information
to help change the world even more.
YOU ARE READING
Bits and Pieces
PoesieBits and pieces of life, incorporated into a mess of free-verse poetry.
