Reflections of an Intellectual in Bed

Yes, the pattern is plain enough
Each book a notch against stupidity
And a prop for the tottering mind.

Who despise possession and its own set of vices
Find in bookery
A justifiable compromise with that vicious mainspring.
(They decorate that wall like rooks in a rookery.)

Besides, they provide such opportunity
For that last, harmless mockery of freedom,
A fine signature.

Funnily enough, my friends, the pen is
Mighty near as powerful as the sword,
The last ligature to be severed by might
Is the privilege of being able to write.

But then I'm safe with Gauguin on the wall,
As insulated as an apple core,
With Van Gogh, like a benediction, over the head
Of my passionless bed.

—Lyster Paul.