I am

I am the clay of the Euphrates
molded by Sumerian hands
pressed by a sharpened reed
preserving in cuneiform
the epic Ballad of Gilgamesh.

I am the pith of papyrus
washed in the Nile waters
hammered into a scroll
touched by the black iron ink
of Akhenaten’s Hymn to the Sun,

I am the hide of a horse
cleaned and dried with lye
etched with words of Latin
by Titus Lucretius Carus to wit
Epicureanism, De rerum natura.

I am the goat skin parchment
stretched tight as a drum head
scarred with metaphysical reason
as Cynewulf suffered in hand
The Dream of the Rood.

I am the revolutionary paper
touched by the hands of greatness
written by candle light and quill
setting down the right of freedom
in The Declaration of Independence.

I am the flash of digital images
scripted on a charged screen
preserving the joy of expression
in a collection of files
displayed on a WordPress blog.

I am all these things humans do
from the beginning of recorded time
the art and dance of thought
spoken or written or sung
the fulfillment life’s poetry.

© 2011, Donald Harbour