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Total Library
(Ahmed Baba Institute)
‘Salt comes from the north, gold from the south and silver
from the country of the white men, but the word of God and
the treasures of wisdom are only to be found in Timbuktu.’
– West African Proverb
Try as you might you can't
burn down a library
for words have wings
and have already risen
before you can say anything
about anything, before
the ash and the ashen winds
curl around the doorways
of the tombs of saints.
The bones of men walk on
with salt and gold
in their marrow which is
the marrow of the earth,
and the bones of holy men
and women walk on
with songs in their step
cellular to the earth.
We must think on our feet
by dancing between aisles
of angels uncatalogued.
[Rachael Boast (b.1975) is the author of four collections of poetry, most recently Hotel Raphael. Her work has appeared in various magazines, including Chicago Review, Poetry, Poetry Ireland Review, Poetry London and The Scores. She is co-editor of The Echoing Gallery: Bristol Poets and Art in the City (Redcliffe Press, 2013) and The Caught Habits of Language: An Entertainment for W.S. Graham for Him Having Reached One Hundred (Donut Press, 2018).
Copyright © 2022 by Rachael Boast, all rights reserved. This text may be used and shared in accordance with the fair-use provisions of copyright law. Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on other terms, in any medium, requires the notification of the journal and consent of the author.
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