ALS NaPoWriMo 2025 Day 27 Prompt: Seek inspiration from the picture.
I am following the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson for my poem today:
“If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.”
Poem: The Enigmatic World of Books
“If we encounter a man of rare intellect,
We should ask him what books he reads.”
For it is through books that we traverse many worlds,
And our repertoire of knowledge is enriched.
—
When the world around seems to unnerve me,
When the mind needs a pause, a new perspective,
When my heart needs to process the multitude of emotions,
Into the world of words, I quietly retreat.
—
Flipping through the pages, I enter the writer’s mind,
I devour all the wisdom of science and sages,
A gift that’s been humbly offered to humanity,
After years of awareness, research and philosophy.
—
When I scour for the right words to comfort myself,
A good book becomes my empathetic therapist,
Gently untangling my knots by answering and questioning,
Tactfully helping me restore my sanity.
—
I oft lose my way in the humdrum of life,
Finding it challenging to choose what’s best for me,
My assortment of books then becomes my mentor,
Guiding my path without judging me.
—
Word by word, page after page,
A book stitches together all the broken ends,
Some insights it provides, some curiosity it piques,
Offering a rationale for life’s baffling mysteries.
—
Books have helped me become who I am,
I owe my transformation to words and pages,
Without books in my life, I would be inanimate,
They slowly breathe a lease of life into me.
—
Books are an infinite compendium of learning,
At times an escape, at others, a justification of reality,
A true enabler to comprehend my inner being,
Helping me discern the interconnectedness in universality.
—
©Vandana Bhasin
27.04.2025
