He who can, Does, He who cannot, Teaches.
George Bernard Shaw
The aged librarian
cater for the books to remember
the teachers from his youth
who taught him
to quell his curiosity
with encyclopedic text from a to z
learning to find
courage to question, and later
seeking deeper into prose
or distill to verse,
he was never one to listen
but he learned to seek
digging deep and deeper
into sources.
He learned to read
and learn, but
he never learned
the art of writing
anything but the shadow
of a wellknown verse.
He doesn’t blame his teachers
for anything except
to sometimes stop to think
instead of seeking
for the wisdom
of someone infinitely wiser.
Today Punam inspires us to write about teachers at dVerse, The background is that on this past Saturday it was teacher’s day in India. The day was chosen because it was the birthday of India’s second president Dr. S. Radhakrishnan who himself was a scholar and teacher.
In my poem I went into the mind of the aged librarian who alas simply cannot stop learning and reading instead of creating by himself.
Welcome back, aged librarian! Thank you for making my day, Björn! I can imagine him quelling his curiosity ‘with encyclopaedic text from a to z’ and ‘digging deep and deeper into sources’. It would make me sad to never learn the art of writing ‘anything but the shadow of a wellknown verse’.
Sometimes you simply read too much
Ah, the aged librarian! So good to meet him again. Well, now we know that he is an avid reader and that’s the reason he loves being amongst books.
Not all can be writers.
Exactly…
Loved the tribute to your teachers, but it looks to me the comment part is shut off….
Thanks, Björn. Oh, dear! Let me correct it.
Hi Bjorn, this is an engrossing read. There are many scholars who love to learn and read but who can’t create. There are also some who try but perhaps should not.
Maybe it is a good things that some just read and learn
Yes, I think so
Bjorn, you put a lot of thought into your poem. When so many educational institutions teach only the points of view of others with no focus on critical thinking, it is no wonder there are so many aged librarians.
That said, it’s a thankless job to keep books in order, and increasingly librarians are expected to become warriors against censorship.
Or maybe we sometimes have too much critical thinking, and some just have to keep order as you say
Happy to see the old librarian emerging from the dusty stacks with reflections and wisdom from his past to us.
He will pop up every now and then
:>)
It is great to see the aged librarian again Bjorn! Reading all alone is not so much a dedication but a pleasure and enjoying it! Wonderful write!
Hank
I think it is a skill very few has… but those who have maybe do it too much
I admire your librarian – I think I drew similar conclusions – learning things your own way and for yourself is a satisfying feeling – Jae
Maybe the schools purpose is more to learn how to learn than to teach
That’s a good thought! I agree – thank you Bjorn
I know a few teachers who actively and successfully practice what they teach. From a variety of disciplines. Love your aged librarian. I’m disappointed to see use of AI to generate a picture. A medium that leeches of living artist’s work. Also the enormous impact data centres have on the environment in this age of climate change.
I know too that many teachers do… (I have been teaching at the university myself)… about AI images it is hard to find the right image, and I spend an enourmous time trying to find the right image for a poem… alas from time to time I simply have not the time and use a quick shortcut.
😏
I can recognise the feeling in your poem Björn though have gotten better at the input/output ration over time.
I am probably a lot more output than reading nowadays… really should read a lot more.
The aged librarian recognizes the need “to stop to think” — and that’s a start.
Always enjoy the aged libririan insights!
Questions make for more learning compared to easy solutions quickly offered in my view, this is a glorious read Bjorn.