by: James Swift (Timothy Suitor)
The Library
Would one be surprised to find that
My favorite library is young?
Few creaking vellum scrolls and dusty tomes,
But well lit, and crisp fresh ink on pages.
It is not a place of forbidden and haunting lore,
To be translated from some ancient tongue.
It is a place for kids to enjoy reading, and
To grow a love of learning for all ages.
Simple books for the trades line shelfs,
With attendants to help folk find what they seek.
Some evenings classes are held to teach
What arthritic hands can no longer do.
Artisan circles, theology discussions, job trainings,
Book clubs and writing critique,
Monthly childcare for date nights in the city,
A fraction of what uses the library as their venue.
Within a calm, only broken by gasp or giggle,
As they read books that fit them like a glove.
A cathedral to knowledge, a hall of comfort,
Where ignorance wanes and wisdom can increase.
When offered to make a library from scratch,
These are the things that I made sure of,
A place where folk, adult or kid alike could go
To read, study, grow, or even just be, in peace.
-
I would beg a dozen pardons that this piece of my Stonewood Peace Poem collection has been sitting buried among a pile of correspondence that I have been working my way through, ready to be sent out to the View. I assure you that the next will be submitted far sooner than the last has been.
I am grateful to be the co-founder of the Loken-Swift Library with one of my close friends, Sir Loken of the Northern Alliance. After a few quests we noticed many scrolls of lore being discarded or left behind. We began collecting them, and within a few years we had a chest full. At feasts we would bring it out and let people peruse. We even made “Library Scrolls” for identification and ease of borrowing. We hold a collection of Omnibi from 992-993, and 998 to 1019. Since, whenever we stumble across a library on a quest, we make sure to ask them if they would be interested in inter-library loans
When I was offered a reward some years back within Stonewood, I asked for a location near Starhaven where I could create the first physical standing branch of the Loken-Swift Library. It was granted, with the condition of my having to decide what I wanted its focus to be. I could have chosen some branch of magic, so that I could study even more efficiently, or devote the entire place to a subject I wanted to learn more of so that when requesting the books I would be able to finally get my hands on some rare pieces I’ve been seeking.
Instead I wanted a good library for the people of Stonewood, I wanted a place where young people could discover their love of reading and learning, and where older folk could still find things of interest. I made sure that in the evenings the place could be used as a gathering spot for the community, where people could learn from one another. Fostering that place of betterment where the people of Stonewood and Starhaven could find peace, and occasionally a tea cart being wheeled around, means a lot to me.
You would have my thanks,
-Magus Sir James Swift
Tags to use when submitting
Bardic Circle, Nations, Poetry, Stonewood
