“Little Big Bangs”
The word of the day for November 24, 2012: LIBRARY
Library is a word that technology has rendered nearly obsolete. I had forgotten what a magical place a library used to be for me: construction paper letters announcing the new; musty smells of aged leather and browning paper announcing the old; librarians navigating a mysterious decimal system; the cacophony of crossing waves of passion from poets, prophets, and imaginers transcending time; the silence.
It was interesting that, like me, many oneword™ members also related the word library to smell:
I walk into the beautiful room, with high arched ceilings and rows upon rows of sweet smelling books. The odor overwhelms me, as I feel the spines of those that I pass. It is the most wonderful sensation; being engulfed completely in the wonder of knowledge, a feeling teeming with information at your fingers, in the air, all around you.
[Skyapter]
Scents of decaying pages, and blossoming love:
I walked into the library, and the smell of old books and the sound of turning pages filled me. A boy glanced at me from a nearby table, flashing me a warm smile before returning his eyes to his book. I glanced at the cover, but couldn’t read the title.
[Harper]
The fragrance of an acronym:
L is the love of the smell of old pages.
I is the person who reads these words
B is the books that decorate these walls
R is the ragged scripts of old
A is the almanac. I don’t know what that means.
R is the rug I used to sit on reading as a child
Y is why a read. for an adventure every day.
[Austin]
The aroma of a literary love affair:
I went to the library to learn
but all I accomplished was falling in love
with the smell, touch, words
kept on display
from millions of minds through
thousands of years
[beckenbocker]
Everyone is obsessed with the new Kindles, but I personally like books, and have my own library. I find there is nothing like curling up with a good book in your hands.
[marylou wynegar]
The library can feel like a friend:
The library called to me, each book whispered my name. Their voices all distinct but each one familiar in some way to me.
[Gabbie]
Or enemy:
What am I but a library of reminiscence? Something dusty, neglected, unwanted, burdened, plagued by your every thought. Sitting collecting. My very being pressed between each page, like a flower, beautiful but dead. What am I?
[Sky Carter]
A library can be where gods and multiverses begin and never end:
A library is full of little big bangs
Or, if you prefer,
creations of little gods.
Authors.
We know the beginning,
but look anxiously for the end,
searching, contemplating,
curiously, childishly.
[Ca. Adam]
These are selected excerpts of entries from oneword.com, and are just a few of many great entries—too many to list here.
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