by Sharon Olson
In some retellings the Library of Alexandria
was burned by Julius Caesar, accidentally,
a casualty of war.
was burned by Julius Caesar, accidentally,
a casualty of war.
No accident the flashlights of the Doge,
peering with damning light, threatening
the rolled-up scrolls sitting pretty
next to 21st-century flash drives.
I can think of Dewey numbers
the Great Leader would not like:
sexual relations both gay and straight,
301.424, public measures to prevent
disease, 614.5, the library as refuge
for the homeless, 362.5, Palestine
and Israel shelved together, 956.94,
even something so benign
as 351.1, federal jobs.
Not a bad idea to digitize, lest the temperature
rise to Fahrenheit 451, and only an AI librarian
available to operate the hose.
Sharon Olson is a retired California librarian who now lives in Annapolis, Maryland. Her book The Long Night of Flying was published by Sixteen Rivers Press in 2006. Her second book Will There Be Music? was published by Cherry Grove Collections in 2019.
