the smell of old books,
sweet, heavy, divine
in the corner of the university library
my haven,
quiet oasis
escape from the frenetic,
erratic, unpredictable pace
of social life
of roommates
of classmates
of crushes and bad dates
words on page a saving grace
no other human in sight
like when the world itself was created
alone, splashing in a sea of knowledge
untapped excitement
endless discovery on dusty shelves
the only sound heard in hours is the ding of an elevator
on the other side of the room
such places of holy solitude
are disappearing
I didn’t know it then,
but I cherish the memory
of that peaceful place
when the only thing I had to do
was learn
where my only job
was to be a sponge
to soak it all up
for a sad techno-future
where learning
and the search for truth
gets relegated to a weekend hobby
or a nightly hustle
while the days get filled
with noxious light and noise
and people talking
and complaining and
working…working…
and dying…
but still, in my mind
I can always retreat
back to the place
where my soul was on fire
where I can always taste
the sweet, heavy, luscious air
in my citadel
of old paper books
Garbage Notes:
I wrote this about two years ago. At the time I was really missing my old university life, where the library was my haven. It was a safe place where I could study and focus purely on my work.
I recall the smell, the silence, the stillness, especially in times when everyone else was out being social or partying or whatever. I was reading, writing, learning—exploring abstract places that somehow seemed more interesting than the regular concrete world out there.
This poem is a reminder to find your time and place to enrich your mind, even if you’re a working adult, taking care of a family, supporting yourself. Whatever responsibilities you have, it’s important to still find those little spaces to expand your mental horizons.
Reading shouldn’t just be a thing you do while waiting for an appointment or on a Sunday afternoon when everyone else is out running errands, or what you do for show on the beach on vacation. Books should be a constant part of everyone’s life. We have plenty of writers out there. We have plenty of consumers out there. We need more readers. We need to keep it all going. We need to keep literature alive.
I fear our attention spans are diminishing as a human species. One of my great fears for humanity in the future, perhaps even a future within my lifetime, is that the reading of physical books for pleasure just won’t be a thing anymore.
We’re all too tired from reading emails and texts and watching videos and streaming shit—being pressured to be ever-present and connected all the time.
Disconnect, read, live in the past, live in an alternate future, live in any time but this fake one we seem to be continually moving towards.
Franco Amati 2023
there is something so comforting about escaping to other worlds when reading; your post really captured that. i agree we need to keep literature alive!
I can so relate to every word you shared here. It seems like it was a lifetime ago sitting in a library ... I didn't even know I'm missing that, Franco. Thank you for this exquisite trip down the memory lane 🦋