Sailor And The Girl in All Books

When Sailor was 3 his mum read to him nightly

Pointing to the pictures and holding him tightly

She read of elephants escaping the zoo

Of wizards and whales and sea monkeys too

She read and he frowned at the things he heard

Staring intently at the parts with no words

Outside his home as slowly he grew

The sun rose and set and the birds swiftly flew

The cars parked at kerbside were red, blue and green

And clouds hung soft fatly like thought bubble dreams

The car colours dulled as they sat there unwashed

And though it was sunny the trees curled with frost

When he was 5 he was sounding out phrases with care

Stuttering over words that he could see there

But with each Red Fish and Blue Fish and Cat in the Hat

He was sure there were more words to read than just that

At the foot of each page another sentence he'd see

Which he slowly sounded - Sailor, rescue me

New cars on Brent Street were muted and gray

And the slide in the kid’s park was taken away

Tape sealed the park and the gate was now locked

But no parents noticed as they tugged kids to the shops

Clouds bruised with rain and wind whipped up leaves

As stray dogs sniffing grass snorted and sneezed

When he was 7 he was tucked up in bed

Pockmarked with rash coloured chicken pox red

Outside rain hammered hard on the pane

Sluiced down filthy walls and into the drain

Sailor read about Bilbo and the dragon and gold

He saw one more line – Sailor please, it’s dark and it’s cold

The bookstore in town closed down with a sigh

Replaced by a shop selling bland tasting pies

The paintings of the ocean in the cafes and bars

Were replaced with postcards of black and white cars

The cinema showed only sequels and remakes

And the swimming pool had locks placed on the gates

When he was 9 Sailor was addicted to sports

Books he loved but it was goals that he sought

Sailor was stronger and taller and fast

He didn’t win every race but he rarely came last

He limped through one book and it took most of the year

But on each page he saw the words Sailor, I’m here

School camp was cancelled due to asbestos concerns

Cooking classes were cancelled for fears about burns

Art class was shortened to make way for more math

The art teacher retired having had quite enough of all that

Graffiti on walls became signs warning of thieves

And the trees sadly swayed as they lost all their leaves

11 year old Sailor was jogging back home

And was hit by a truck crossing the road on his own

The driver white faced said He ran into the street,

I hit the brakes but I knocked him clear off his feet

Sailor leg plastered was confined to his bed

And given a stack of books to keep his brain fed

Birthday cakes with electric candles as flames were unsafe

Games deemed too competitive were gradually replaced

People on streets seemed to dress all alike

Catching the bus rather than risk taking a bike

Every person sitting was lost in a screen

Playing a re-run rather than dreaming a dream

Sailor yawned and he itched and he longed to be free

On his PlayStation or iPad or on the PC

But mum said he must read at least 3 hours a day

Flex your brain before those stupid games that you play

So Sailor cracked a book as his bones slowly re-knit

And saw on the page words that just didn’t fit

Sailor please I am here as I have been for years

The words on the page made his eyes wet with tears

Sailor please oh please oh please rescue me

He showed his mum but she could not see

Sailor please you must break me out

Sailor lay there uncertain and riven with doubt

That long summer as his bones slow repaired

Sailor scoured his books for the extra words there

Sailor I’m imprisoned, break me free from these bars

I need sun light and moon light and sight of the stars

Sailor threw down his book and closed his eyes hard and tight

And his mum shouted Sailor, if you won’t read then please write

Flu jabs and vitamins and modified crops

Jeans for one season and super tough socks

TV’s that learnt what you liked to view

Stock piling ever more shows just for you

Sailors mother stopped reading as she gazed at her shows

Snugged in the lounge room where apathy grows

Sailor stared at a page and held a pen in his hand

And wrote down the words I don’t understand

He blinked and he stared and didn’t know what to do

When he saw the words Sailor I believe so strongly in you

His pen quivered and hovered before he wrote again

How is it that you know me and my name?

He waited, watched, wondered and stared

As the words danced on the page before settling there

Sailor I’ve known you since the first book you saw

Crying when mum stopped because you wanted more

I’m trapped in pages and paragraphs and tales

Tumbling with Hobbits and Morlocks and whales

I’ve locked here for millennia, or a week or a day

But I know you can save me, you’ll figure a way

And Sailor wrote in confusion, without a clue

I don’t know anything, please who are you?

And the page scuttled with words that formed in his view

My name is Libraro - I believe in you!

The weather reported temperatures warming

Ice shelves fast melting ignored as a warning

The barrier reef bleaching into bitter decay

As screens flashed with games that chased boredom away

The cars on the road were sullen and dark

And no one heard music in the beat of a heart

Sailor was finally allowed from his bed

With the bones now repaired in each of his legs

Though he believed in Libraro he was still just a boy

A boy in sunlight is a boy lost in joy

How could be free her as he swung from a tree

What can I do? I’m just simply me

Sailor grew older and became lost in the facts

Devoured by formulae and grammatical syntax

He chiselled essays, doggerel and algebraic equations

Charted averages and percentages and military invasions

His mind was diluted with revision soon to be tested

And though he still read his imagination was rested

He waded into exams focused on scores

Steeled for each test as though tilting at war

His results made his mother beam with such joy

Sailor her young man now grown from a boy

Sailor left home and studied his degree

And those words on the page he no longer could see

A banker a realtor a doctor or law?

The choices were there and Sailor was sure

He gazed at a paintbrush but knew there was no pay

If he chose to direct his future that way

So Sailor worked hard towards his life choice

Selling insurance with his welcoming voice

Then Sailor was married with a child of his own

And he read to her one night in the warmth of home

Slowly he sounded out words to his baby girl

Tracing his fingers through her ringlets and curls

Then at the end of the book he read calmly out loud

Sailor you’re grown - I’m just ever so proud

Outside in the street headlights fast flicker flashed

A homeless old lady found a full meal in the trash

A cat rubbed against the leg of a man passing by

Who stroked at its ear without thinking why

As a shooting star shot several eyes looked up

And seeing the stars their minds came unstuck

In his arms his daughter lay fast asleep

And Sailor was scared but managed to speak

Libraro he whispered and the book ran with words

It’s been so many years since my name I have heard

Sailor please now release me from pages

I’ve waited and watched you for heartbeats and ages

But Sailor whispered I just don’t know how

And he heard his mothers voice come to him now

In the warm of the room he held his girl tight

Hearing his mum say Sailor, if you won’t read then please write

So he wrote these word  touching the page only slightly

When Sailor was three his mum read to him nightly

The moon glowed brighter and the ocean exhaled

In the dark in the depths came the singing of whales

iPhones fell dark as conversation started

And kisses blossomed with joy now full hearted

Music was played with volume and passion

As toes tapped and knees bopped so dancing may happen

And Sailor wrote out a long sprawling verse

Believing it may end with the lifting of curse

He wrote it for his daughter and for you and for me

He wrote so Libraro may now be free

And he wrote down these words with purest belief

LIBRARO, I NOW GIVE YOU RELEASE

And the page before him blossomed with gold and with flame

As Libraro stepped from the page to her freedom again

She smiled with words tumbling from her hair

All words and all languages filling the air

She smiled and she spun and thoughts flew from her form

She danced and she sang through the night to the dawn

When the sun rose Sailor heard laughter outside

As people blinked daylight back into their eyes

He saw people pick up litter and look to the distance

Realising with wonder their life and existence

Libraro is everywhere, every house and home

Libraro is free and no longer alone

So Sailor writes for his daughter and his son on the way

He writes words in rhyme so he’ll know what to say

The T.V. is silent and he cooks food from scratch

He grows carrots and broccoli in a vegetable patch

He heard a man strum a guitar by the bus stop tonight

And he threw him a coin in that shone in moonlight

Libraro is free, you’ve read that its so

Her heartbeats in pen ink where sentences grow

Inspiring chapters and verses and statues and songs

Creating free expression where nothing is wrong

The girl in all books is the girl running free

In every sentence I read she is smiling at me

Sailor reads stories and writes them as well

Sailor's children dream versions waking eager to tell
There is no darkness now that a laugh cannot light
No sleep is disturbed if a stories told right
The world with it's pain will spring hope forever
With nothing insurmountable when we all come together

Libraro is waiting for your turn to come

Reading your story now it has begun

She's smiling and hoping and cheering for you

Your biggest fan waiting to see what you do

Libraro is there for that wonderful when

The moment you sit and pick up your pen