THE GOOD OLE DAYS
Today my son
cracked the spine
of a new book
like a chiropractic student
eager
for knowledge. Encyclopedia
Brown, a favorite I remember from humid
summers when my skin became sweat,
but my brain stayed thristier than
my throat. I had to explain
what
an encyclopedia was, because now
Dad can look up anything on the computer,
grimy though it may be from children's fingers
stabbing at keys while exploring Starfall
or Cool Math Games.
It made me
wonder
what happened
to all the encyclopedia salesman
since they became
obsolete.
Perhaps to the detriment of us all.
Because humans rarely value
what is free. Just ask
the woman with a suitor
too eager
with his gifts. Or the suitor
who finds a woman
too eager in her response.
No matter
what
we desire,
availability slakes the thirst.
So
now we embrace
what we don't know
like a crest, waving the banner
of our ignorance with
pride. Leaving
those forgotten
salesmen truly
dead.
No comments:
Post a Comment