The Bookworm

The Bookworm

Did you know there is a disease

That strengthens your head, weakens your knees

That makes you much smarter than you look

The disease is transferable by book

If you happen to read one, beware

Knowledge is beautiful and it will ensnare

Any mind unsure of itself

While lying innocently on the bookshelf

Once caught you are forever lost

In the maze of knowledge acquired at the cost

Of your friends, your hobbies, your life, your job

You end up an incredibly intelligent slob

At a moment's notice you can recall a quote

That an obscure writer in an obscure time wrote

And it will fit the situation quite well

But what good, when there is no one to tell?

Must a reader be a lonely soul

Must attainment of knowledge be his only goal

Must he roam the world only in his head

Omniscient without ever leaving his bed?

"Cretin!" said Knowledge, "Open your mind and look!

What need of friends when you have a book?

Does a tower, at its almightiest height

Look around and bemoan its lonely plight?

Nay, it stands erect, tall and proud

Jutting out from above the clouds

First among us, is the tower to greet

The sunlight, from its lofty seat

Tarry not with mortals, but read,

For knowledge does happiness supersede

‘Tis better to know than to care

For knowledge breeds caution, hope only despair!"

So the learned fool read on and wept

For a promise, sincerely but ill advisedly kept

His thoughts grew profounder, his heart turned to stone

The genius who never lived, died alone