Riddle Me
I look (don’t stare)
At the empty page
I don’t have to worry
If it’s crap, I’ll throw it out
Well, the electronic version
I suppose once something’s
Done in here
It’s never gone for good
Should that be daunting?
I don’t know
Mostly, I don’t care
Let the devil have electrons
God is with me here
And there
Words on the page now
Black tracks of gospel birds
The solution to
A medieval riddle
And a gospel message
The bird (the quill)
That walks across the page
Bringing new life to vellum
That was dead, the skin of animals
Stretched out
What passed for stationery
Then
A monk moving the quill
One of a literate minority
Leaving a message first to dry
Then to be read
Wondrously illustrated
Presented at midday
The sun to bless
The effort of the monastery
And then, for effect,
A library
Maybe thirty books
For rank to show what
Can be bought, in fact, for show
And with tutors’ help
To read
And then, perhaps,
To change the world
C L Couch
a thousand years ago, riddles were fun
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, New Haven, United States
This is a 9 RAW photo composite. This library is lit through 1 1/2 inch marble walls by natural sunlight.
clcouch123 
August 13, 2020 at 5:06 pm
The progress of the written word. Have you ever tried calligraphy, Christopher? I gave it a go many years past, but then the word processor came into being and that was that. I miss those days. I think.
August 14, 2020 at 7:36 pm
It was all part of the big picture then, the illuminations, the words transcribed, all with a reason. We’d call it propaganda now I suppose.
August 16, 2020 at 10:27 am
you captured the heart of a writer, brother. these lines are so powerful:
Let the devil have electrons
God is with me here
And there