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Dewey system catalogues, classically numbered and signposting the way
This is the printed and neatly decoded DNA roadmap of my life
Not a simplistic trek for me, nor an easy journey from A to Z and back
I like intersecting aisles, narrow causeways and tumbling paths
That inch me slowly forward little-by-little, integer by integer, step by step
Stretching me as I leap from flat planes to steeply sloping page
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Only by flicking and tip-towing can I be taken from my cosy centre isle
Up winding stairs to hidden gangways, on rocky climbs
Arms stretching higher and reaching out hand-over-hand
I’m grabbing at craggy piles, waiting for the landslide to reveal a new route
As I press flat against layered seams, striated with ingrained wood.
Eventually, I nudge quietly fourth, out to the shelves jutting edge
.
Where I gingerly survey the grey and lifeless towering blocks below
Cabinets for those damaged ones, simply too fragile to handle
Their hidden secrets jumbled together, surrounded by the lost and found
Safe now to consult my guide, noting the ‘referenced sections’,
Each one clearly spelling out a particular or practical danger
An un-seen meaning or some misunderstood phraseology
.
The pedants wait to trip me up and beguile me on the long walkways
Peopled as they are by ‘classic characters’ who speak far off languages
Each sounding richer, deeper and more meaningful than the one before
With every sentence more complicated, yet not totally indecipherable
So, how do I get to my mythic tales end; when all my days are so short?
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There’s no other answer but to plod on, my eyes grow dim, shadowed by lost time
But somehow the looming mountains of ‘ no-returns’ lead me safely back
To the archway of my trails end; back to the regular revolving door
I spill out, careful to leave with a word, safely freeing every marker from my jackets cover
Maybe tomorrow, I’ll I crack the numeric code that will allow me ultimate access
I’ll find that sacred book, my holy grail…
Until then I’ll have to seek it out by asking “Where do I go to find the book that answers all my questions?”
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Copyright ©07/03/2010 Beth Stratton
Marvellous! Really marvellous.