The Pursuit Of Knowledge

The sun was scattered through the colored glass

The floor was stained as light enveloped in a bath

And shadows on the wall from piles of books were cast

With rows that formed an aisle in through which I passed

These the quarters of a recluse whom I’d come to ask

About the origin of wisdom he was said to have

To get the story of “the man who knows more than any”, or so I read

He welcomed me to sit with affection and then he said

“Since I was seven I’ve traveled the globe through words

Set on a mission to devour all I could learn

I’ve studied the writings of the greatest minds you’ve heard

Discovered the tenets that the finest thinkers observed

The more I gained, the more that I sought to earn

The more I attained, the hotter the fire burned

With every book I finished another was there to serve

For every text I read there were pages still left to turn

I’ve learned from all the migrants and drifters to whom I’d listen

Philosophers and soldiers whose knowledge I would solicit

I know histories of nations I’ll never have chance to visit

Complexities of science and language with great precision

But in the end I’ve seen nothing of what’s been given

This life that I’ve employed, while I love it, it has its limits

The failing I regret, though it’s painful, I must admit it

For everything I know of this world, I never lived it”

A silence hung for a moment’s thought

As echoes from the room decayed and tapered off

And there we sat reflecting, was it all for naught?

Until I spoke in earnest with this brief remark

I said that “while it’s evident your knowledge is rivaled by much shrewdness

I’ve never met a man with such wisdom who’s so foolish”

Then he grinned and he chuckled and asked if I

Would speak on what I’d seen through my travels, so I replied

“I’ve seen the treasure that waits for a man to find

I’ve seen the consequence when the sun and the moon combine

I’ve seen the peaks of mountains that reach out and touch the sky

The struggle to survive and the desert where dreams have died

I’ve seen the best and the worst that we try to hide

The salt of the earth and the evil of humankind

I’ve seen the wrecked and ravaged and scavengers rummage through debris

And those that searched in hope, finding meaning where none once used to be

And some that stormed the beaches

Some that pledged allegiance

Some that scorched the earth for motives that they don’t agree with

Seen some get lost among the current of their grievance

While the tide of death and birth left some speechless

I’ve seen love bring some to their knees

And some lift hearts when they smile for no reason

I’ve seen fairytale endings to believe in

And now I see a man who’d see the same if he’d but seize it