Poem: "Lost"

Poem: Lost
by shiori_makiba / Ashley Weyer

Inspired by a prompt by alexseanchai for the November Creative Jam. Comments and constructive criticism is welcomed.

“Lost”

Over the course of history, many stories have become lost.
The reasons why are legion, for they are many.

Perhaps the language is also become lost.
Its once many speakers lay cold and silence.
Their tales are buried with them.
Just one more set of ghosts.

Sometimes the language becomes fractured with pieces of itself disappearing into the ether.
The result is a rich tapestry chewed into fragments by word-eating moths.
Some try to fill in those empty spaces but the repair is often a thread-bare and mismatched patch.

Sometimes the language lives and story-teller lives.
But none or too few listen to their words.
They speak but are not heard.
And when they stop speaking, more become lost.

Even committing the stories to material than memory does not help.
Stone can be worn down or broken into pieces.
Paper can be burnt or soaked or eaten by insects.
Metal can be scratched or melted.
And when they are, the precious words they hold slip away once more.

Sometimes it is nature that takes the stories away.
Other times is it is man.
Either way, they are gone.
Hidden in the Library of Lost Stories.

But lose not your hope, dear reader.
Because, sometimes, someone finds one a missing story and brings it back to us.
And that is cause for celebration.

Poem: "Books Are"

Poem: Books Are
by shiori_makiba / Ashley Weyer

Inspired by the prompt by brides_koneko for the November Creative Jam. Comments and constructive criticism welcomed.

“Books Are”

The truest companions one could ask for.
They are always there when we need them.
They never ask us to be other than who we are.
To the book, you are simply the reader.
And all they ask is that you read them.

A means of escape.
With a book, you can run away without ever leaving your house.
You might see distant stars and encounter mysterious aliens.
You can travel back into the past, from the beginnings of the Earth to within your own lifetime.
You step into other world, catching glimpse of unicorns dancing amongst the trees or dragons in flight.

In each, you travel not alone but with a myriad of companions.
For a brief time, you step into their shoes.
You might solve crimes in gaslight streets of London with Watson and Holmes.
Or step aboard ship with Honor Harrington and journey amongst the stars.
Or you struggle to save Middle-Earth with the Fellowship.

A source of information.
Any given subject has a legion of books about it.
Each waiting to impart their wisdom.
At times this can be overwhelming.
But that's why books have librarians.

A treasure of culture.
The folk-tales, fairy stories, and legends that speak of how these people see the world.
Some are etched onto paper, others are held by elders' memory.
Either way, they are a gift of the ancients.
A gift that has too often been lost.
So keep them close.

Books are many things to many people.
Whatever your book is you, you know it will always be there.
Waiting to be read once more.