Library Fairy
3:28
This is the poem Library Fairy being performed at Hickman High School by James Dolezal. It got First place in the Fall 2011 Hickman Poetry Slam.
Tags: Library Fariy Books Librarian slam poetry poetry James Dolezal Writing Word Reading Poem Spoken Word Hickman High School Hickman
Added: 2 years ago
From: James Dolezal
Views: 44
Back in the time when I became unsure about the existence of Santa Claus
There emerged a being whose existence I clung to like ivy on a cliff
When you're aiming for the top, but your fear makes you stop
She reached out, pulling me to safety
And her name was the Library Fairy
I had to take but one step into her kingdom to be enchanted
The walls were made of words
And the masons glued these bricks together with wisdom, experience, and devotion
I could hear her flitting through the volumes
Traversing the verses like a well-worn path
Between her home and infinity
Then my hands began to move, under her direction
Tickling the spines of storytellers forgotten
Some books would burst a brilliance in my mind
But like the sun, exposure should be limited
So I just read them one time
Other stories became favorites
Their covers, to my hands like a favorite mitten
You know the ones with the music notes and teddy bears
They remind me of warm thoughts and cold days
They reminded me of home
The Library Fairy sees your heart, but keeps you blind
The all-knowing sprite, flaunting her might
Always knows right, but remains out of sight
Nothing more than a murmur, a shadow on the shelves
Until one day, I began not just to read
But to think
I saw her
Her eyes, mirrors of human fragility
Her hair, made of the flowing strands of time
A dress, forged of forgotten dreams
And wings, spreading out gossimer strands of eloquence
Creating a canopy of literature, protecting our children
Allowing them to fly
A picture may be worth a thousand words
But with a thousand words
These poets can make you see a thousand images
Evoking every emotion
With a thousand words
A poet can remind you of every soul-crushing heartbreak
Bringing you to the lowest depths, then catapulting you up
With the memories of your greatest triumphs
Hurling you higher than you ever thought possible
Until you are soaring with the other flightless birds
Shhhhh
You are in the library, and you must be quiet
The thought these books create can only be heard in whispers
Each to be caught like a firefly
Whose brilliance belongs to you but for a moment
Then is gone
Listen closely and you will hear
Listen closely, you will hear
Listen closely, you will hear
Listen closely and you will hear
The whispering of history's visionaries
And the more you hear, the more you grow
Like a beanstalk planted from a bean
Made of doubted dreams
Outside these four walls
Everyone is speaking jabberwocky
There are fools who grasp vainly at the ideal
And in searching for it, they jealously deprive others
Of insight
They rip pages from the books of wisdom
Burn them in the fires of ignorance
You are no longer protected by the Library Fairy
You must take the first step, on your own
Fight!
Write down your thoughts until the pencil tip breaks
Let the bones in your fingers snap
And you will start to spot the birds on the walls
Around the mind of somebody else
Snap, and you will crink the necks
Of men who won't stop their lives
As your goes whizzing by
Snap, and the world will gaze at you
But their eyes will be ignored by the fervor of your devotion
Snap!
She has watched, and she has listened
And now she whispers to the wandering children
Along with the works of ancient poets past
She will whisper your name
No comments:
Post a Comment