Dearth of dusty, grey and musty
books upon the shelf.
In the empty halls of knowledge
I met a wizened Alf.
He sat upon a tome of Science,
his look was far away.
A little gnarled and twisted man
with just a hint of fey.
He saw the searching in my eye
and then I saw him smile.
Then he saw my wariness
and then I saw his guile.
He whispered to me darkly
of the slyness of the mind.
His countenance grew grim now,
his face was thin and lined.
He told me of the separateness
between the mind and soul.
How one was thought the other
from bygone days of old.
The mind he called an instrument,
reason, just a tool.
The soul he called the genius.
The soul he called the fool.
He taught me things I could not think
’til I broke down into tears.
He showed me how my happiness
depends upon my fears.
Drifting in the timeless void,
suddenly all went still.
Vibration ceased.
I saw the beast
whose name is Nothing.
Nil.