Delicate Knowledge

There once lived a boy

In a house made of glass

A house made of brittle thoughts

And splintered dreams

A boy lived in an intangible space

A space made to be empty

To remain empty

A place with only walls, floors, and roofs

 

But it was an ideal house

No wind chilled the boy

No rain drenched the boy

No snow froze the boy

 

A boy lived in an invisible house

A house made to be seen through

By the people who walked outside its walls

Who tapped on the panes as they walked by in life

No one could say who it was made for

The people or the boy

So, the boy made a choice

To build a wall made of books

To fill a house made of glass

To create walls

Made to cast out the world

The ringing, clanging, banging of a billion beings

Made by the voices outside the glass walls

As all could watch as the boy

Disappeared under stacks of books

A chain mail of letters

 

There once lived a boy

In a home made of words

A beautifully dusted world

With no walls, or floors, or roofs,

 

Only doors