An Ode to the Library

We entered the extremely cute cafe, and saw a mysterious sign over the warm hearth

It told a tale of ancient history, when humans were slaves, and aliens ruled the earth

They were an advanced race, technologically, and due to their strict laws, there was no crime

But since humans were doing all their work, one thing they had loads and loads of, was time

 

And it was this unlimited free time that ultimately led to the alien race’s doom

For an empty mind is a devil’s workshop, and in their minds, the devil did get a lot of room

There were books in the kigdom, hundreds of thousands of them, but all going to seed

For the aliens had advanced so much, that they did not feel the need to read

 

Now it so happened that the alien emperor, in his infinite wisdom, thought he would put all the books lying around to good use

And so he announced a contest, not realizing that by doing so, he was making his own noose

The contest was to find the biggest collector of books in the land

And the winner would be appointed as the emperor’s Hand

 

The contest started, and soon unleashed a wild lust for hoarding books that soon became an epidemic

The funny thing was, the reason behind getting the books, or the method, was not even remotely academic

The goal was the grand prize, for it did not matter if you’d read the books or not

So books became a symbol of greed, not of knowledge or progressive thought

 

Thousands died while fighting over books, until the books put their foot down

So much bloodshed in their name, all so that some idiot could become the Hand of the Crown?

The aliens have gone overboard in their debauchery this time, the books decided in an Extraordinary General Body Meeting

So we need to overthrow them, it’s high time they got what they deserve- a good old-fashioned beating

 

So the books ran that very night, from the palace of the emperor, from the warlord’s chambers, and from the Count’s abode

And hid in a huge hall that had been looted in the recent riots and was now lying empty, sad and derelict, just off the main road

They then sent representatives to all the humans in the city, asking them to assemble in the hall

The humans, though scared, eventually agreed to answer the book union’s call

 

The books now asked the humans- Do you want to send your alien rulers back to the sun?

The humans were initially sceptical, but then asked the books how such an impossible task could be done

Read us, said the books, and use our knowledge to fire up your imagination

And we promise you, very soon, you will see yourself again as a free nation

 

So the humans read voraciously, crafted brilliant strategies, and designed many a deadly weapon

The battle, when it finally came, was fierce and brutal, but in the end, the humans had indeed won

So they decided to build temples for the books that had helped them so much in becoming free

And to this day, each of these temples is visited by countless humans to set themselves free, today, we call this temple a library!

 

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