An Agonizing Cry Poem by Valsa George
An Agonizing Cry
Stealing away from the noise and glare
I paced the aisles of an ancient library
Being worn and tired, indisposed to read
I sat in a corner, lost in half reverie
Around me were books stacked end on end
In safely locked glass and wooden shelves
And sectioned into different genres
Fiction, non- fiction, verse et al, in thinly layered leaves
I felt lost in this vast continent of erudite friends
Poet, scholar, philosopher and sage, each sat quiet
But those silent souls seemed to crave for human touch
Waiting to serve anytime learning's lovesome diet
Closely sheltered from the tumult of the world
The place, though serene had an eerie air
And books like so many beauties in a harem
Were kept away in seclusion just to admire
The lifeless air and the long deserted look
Mildly disturbed my inner calm
Couldn't digest man's total disregard of books
Which for long, to many a lonely soul, served as balm
Sitting amid those gallant souls
I thought over the relentless efforts of sage like men
Who in the stillness of the night, in their cloistured cells
Plunged into research and meditative reflection
What knowledge is garnered in these tomes
What all charms, encased in these pages
To what magic lands they can carry us
Sharing with us the accumulated wisdom of ages
With the profusion of electronic gadgets
And information, readily available by a finger hit
Books no more are given a venerable treat
And fated to be stashed away in corners unlit
Heavy with the time tested wisdom of the wise
They sit huddled together in damp corners
Longing to get a little human warmth
But sadly neglected like rusted burners
After an hour's enervating reprieve
While I was leaving that dumb world
In my ears, fell a faint sound
Of the agonizing cry of the Printed Word!
A beautiful poem Valsa. Congratulations on being member of the day Col Muhammad Khalid Khan
Last paragraph: 'dumb', here, I think means 'unable to speak', not 'stupid', the word i usually think of when I hear 'dumb'.
Noise and glare are stolen after natural perception has come into existence. The lifeless air and the long deserted look are disturbed due to sadness. An Agonizing Cry's various corners are deeply felt with deep emotion. This poem brings emotion in heart of a reader. An excellent poem is very nicely penned.10
An insightful write that deals with realities brought about by technology. An eye opener. A beautiful poem well crafted and executed. Superb imagery as always.
A very perceptive write with a meaningful message. This poem resonates with me. Printed Books have been my constant companions for a long time. Until now they are still as important giving me solace as I travel through the minds of their creator. I don't know why but printed books are more appealing to me despite the advance of technology.
Though technology has made giant leaps, the feel a book in our hand gives cannot be replaced by digital or e-books. Holding a hard bound book, turning its pages, and even inhaling the mouldy smell of a book... all give a special thrill. It is a pity that the libraries are no more visited by the younger generation or the printed word is avidly read! Thank you Rose Marie for sharing my thoughts about books! Also for your beautiful and analytical comment!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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2/13/2025 8:44:32 PM # 1.0.0
i had to look up erudite: er•u•dite ˈer(y) əˌdīt/ adjective adjective: erudite having or showing great knowledge or learning. synonyms: learned, scholarly, educated, knowledgeable, well read, well informed, intellectual; intelligent, clever, academic, literary; bookish, highbrow, sophisticated, cerebral; informal brainy; dated lettered our erudite cousin, Norma - - - - - - - - - - so you probably were NOT in the comic books section of the library? at least not the comics I read as a kid. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Waiting to serve anytime learning's lovesome diet............. i love the L/L alliteration! and diet also. :) lovesome? love•some ˈləvsəm/ adjective literary adjective: lovesome lovely or lovable. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - it's been a long, LONG time since someone called me lovesome. the only time i say lovesome is when i say: YES, I'd love some more ice cream! I thought ‘harem girls/women’ were for MORE than admiring. am I wrong, again! ? I better check the rule book more closely. “Couldn't digest man's total disregard of books Which for long, to many a lonely soul, served as balm” ……….love these lines! I’ve had some thoughts along these lines this year. when I’ve been ‘bored’ in retirement, OR rather I should say “have a lot of time on my hands”, I think to when people did not have books or they were rare and expensive to come by. what did people do then for enjoyment/entertainment/”something to do”? [I mean besides barn dances, church services, quilting, and shooting squirrels for fun] well, many had too much work to do (I suppose) to have much free time, especially during hunting (for food) and gathering or farming seasons. and though people didn’t have TV and radio and computers to do take up their time, they also didn’t have microwave ovens, electric clothes washing and drying machines, food processors, cars, buses, trains, diesel farm tractors, and plumbing to make daily chores easier. so, the wealthy had a lot of time (since they had people to do things for them) , but most people had to work their butts off compared to many people today. [especially if the family had 8-15 kids! ] then again, people, I think, tended to die at a younger age, so ………….. well, I see I’m getting carried away. NOW do you feel sorry for my home-boss, who enjoys it when I’m not talking? ? that’s one reason I get to use the computer, so I won’t bother her so much! “While I was leaving that dumb world In my ears, fell a faint sound Of the agonizing cry of the Printed Word! ” ……………more great lines, as long as readers understand “dumb” to mean ‘unable to speak’. I usually think of “dumb” as meaning “stupid/’not too bright’ “, as in: “Bri is a dumb s.o.b.” but we both know that if we have readers’ ears to ‘hear’, we can often ‘hear’ what the books are ‘saying’. I like the use of the title in the last line, OR is it ‘I like the use of a phrase from the last line being used as your title’? ? :) a VERY interesting visit to ‘your’ library, and for your readers! to MyPoemList it goes……… bri :)
Yes Bri, If Valsa Ma'm has not been reading all those comics, then she has been missing a lot. I am a very serious reader of comics, especially, Aterix comics. As I own a full set of them, I read them repeatedly, whenever I find time. I may have completed a 100 rounds already, since I was introduced to them some thirty years back. I still love them. Bri, you would definitely read them. I would recommend them to Ma'm. By the by, do you read Gaulish, oh sorry, French? As I donot, I have read Asterix in English. If you do, pl tell me how is the dialogue in French. I love every word of it in English. Is it as good in the original French as well? ?