Caged
in his solitude, moonless and lost
the ancient librarian dawdles
through dust
of interchangeable
hexagon chambers
for the last apparition of truth
left in the pulp-fiction-platitudes
lost in the wake
of righteous book-burning youths,
claiming that knowledge is only
the gravity-root
of their nation’s decay.
Caged
he should have
known that the voices
of the populist clowns were merely
the canary bird singing in vain
to warn of the circles in soot
being drawn on our doors
and the coming of pyres to burn
, but
Caged,
the librarian smiles
in the knowledge
of books he kept hidden,
knowing that
even from ashes of books
the knowledge might phoenix again.
Daniel Spoerri
Today I host the last dVerse Open Link Night before we close for two weeks during summer. We will also be live, and you are free to join for the first hour of the bar.
The poem is reworked from a previous poem I wrote for Friday Fictioneers, but I think most of you have not seen that one before.
June 24
Björn Rudbergs writings 
So true and beautifully written
Ah Yes, Bjorn – we will triumph in the end for sure… And ancient librarian I have indeed been, back in the day when I had a proper job! Love the idea of: “circles in soot
being drawn on our doors..”
Terrific!
I so enjoyed this reading Bjorn. These last lines speak powerfully:
even from ashes of books
the knowledge might phoenix again.
Happy summer break!
This is incredibly captivating, Bjorn! I especially love; “dust of interchangeable hexagon chambers for the last apparition of truth left in the pulp-fiction-platitudes.”💝💝 Thank you so much for hosting us tonight 😀 Happy Mid-Summer!
Thank you for hosting tonight–even with all the technical problems. I always enjoy your ancient librarian poems.I am hoping the world has many like him–those last lines are powerful. There is such a thrust towards ignorance now.
The aged librarian hides knowledge, knowing like phoenix it will rise again! I love that thought.
thanks for being paitent with my lack of tech now how this evening.
your librarian was the influence behind me finding my Draco.
iis always good to hear from your Librian.
What did HL Mencken call them — the booboisie. Now they have bullhorns and Twitter fans. What else can we do but hunker down and care for our words?
Again, please accept my praise, especially for that closing ash / phoenix imagery, Bjorn. Awesome Ancient Librarian verse. Thanks.
even from ashes of books
the knowledge might phoenix again.
A good twist to the ‘phoenix from the ashes’ reference. The proverbial strength that comes after very well built into it!
Hank
Dystopian in plain view. What goes on in your library! But you can’t keep a good phoenix down.
Thank you for hosting, I would have enjoyed hearing you read your poem. The library is a house of time where much knowledge can be found. The librarian is the gate keeper to many secret worlds.
Bjorn,
“That knowledge might phoenix again”! Brilliant imagery even as we enter into a new dark ages, but the librarian stands guard.
pax,
dora
I love this poem Björn: I don’t think knowledge or ideas can ever be truly obliterated. I love the rhythm and half-rhyme of your opening:
‘Caged
in his solitude, moonless and lost
the ancient librarian dawdles
through dust’
and the use of ‘phoenix’ as verb at the end.
The destruction of knowledge is a dangerous thing. But there are always keepers…
Excellent sound and rhythm. This is my favorite, exemplifying such:
“dawdles
through dust
of interchangeable
hexagon chambers”
I love this, Bjorn! May knowledge rise again, it can’t all be burned to ashes or dust. ❤ Brilliantly penned, I enjoy your librarian poetry series.
powerful, sad, yet hopeful. the Seed Bank – that there were a Book Bank, as well. The reference in V2 of Passover inverted, as it were – those soot circles indicating what to burn, perhaps, or the places where the books already have been ashed… ~
Oh, I love stories about librarians! And I also love that you turned “phoenix” into a verb 😀
“in the knowledge
of books he kept hidden,
knowing that
even from ashes of books
the knowledge might phoenix again.”
great poem bjorn, loved that ending, this is a very valid concern, again, in this day and age, lots great lines, too many to quote… very well written!
I think the librarian will always have his finger on the pulse of knowledge and truth.
Being caged gives one time to ponder.
To think.
There are issues to be settled. To be resolved before midnight comes again, pouring its sickly light through the window.
Rise again, young gargoyles, and spread your wings through the night sky.
— Catxman
http://www.catxman.wordpress.com
As long as he doesn’t lick his finger to turn the pages…