A Bushel of Banned Books
A book is so much more than a book.
So ordinary from the outside,
Yet magical within.
Tomes that hold ancient
Tongues of knowledge
We have yet to comprehend,
Like the Bible, the Iliad, and the Koran.
Unique vehicles that carry us
Across a river of wisdom
And flood our minds with delicious images
Of far away lands and rich sounds
Of music of the mind,
Painting us The Color Purple and
Filling rooms with shouts
Of how To Kill a Mockingbird.
Guy Montag screams
Of the injustice in
Destruction of liberty and freedom,
Begging for release from
The reality that the blaze sears
Such beautiful and terrifying holes
In the story of the lives that we touch and weave.
How barbaric are those countries- libraries- schools
That ban and burn books,
Embellishing their version of Mein Kampf.
Holes created
In the vacuum of words,
Digging and digging
For a treasured meaning
In the silence of today.
Fitzgerald rises from his Valley of Ashes.
Suzanne Collins reaps from her Arena.
Ralph Ellison fights from his Shadows.
Sandra Cisneros escapes from her Mango Street House.
Amy Tan celebrates from her Joy Luck Club.
No books should ever be banned,
Because each one has something to teach
Within the worn cover and dusty pages.
Time wears on, but still we savor with thanks
History – Memories- Hope- Dreams
Upon noble vessels of books.
Inlandia: A Literary Journey 