National Poetry Month: What's the 4-1-1? 11 of 30
What's the 4-1-1?
When we started our family
all those years ago,
with grand dreams,
lofty goals,
an eye toward the future,
we bought a set of encyclopedias.
From A-Z,
we wanted our kids
to be able to learn about
everything:
to ask questions,
seek answers,
dig through information.
Little did we know,
in a few short years,
information
would be at their fingertips
24-7.
From A-Z,
they'd be able
to ask big questions,
seek answers,
scroll through
endless information
with a simple search.
In any conversation
when a question arises
or someone needs the 4-1-1,
everyone grabs their phones -
not the encyclopedias.
Even now
the set
rests on a shelf -
and still -
I don't regret the purchase.
On our bookshelf
they stand,
looking wise -
haughty even -
among the other books;
a symbol of the value
of information
and learning in a lifetime.
© Cathy L Mere, 2021
It's National Poetry Month. This year, I CHOOSE JOY as my One Little Word Phrase. Since I'm on the lookout for JOY, it makes sense to share a poem each day this month about what I find.
I remember when encyclopedias were our only resource for finding information. They were amazing books. We had to go to the library to use them as my mom and dad never bought us a set for at home. My, how the times have changed.... Google anything and you come up with all the information available for it.. I am glad I really had to research things and not just do a Google Search.
ReplyDeleteIt is something to be able to search for an answer so instantaneously.
DeleteI love the encyclopedia! Back in the olden days before last year, I would require my students to use them as one of their sources for research. Most of them had never opened one, but when they did, they had the joy of getting lost in all of the KNOWLEDGE as they browsed through looking for their entry!
ReplyDeleteYes! I loved looking through them when I was in school. The only place to ever get my hands on an encyclopedia was at the public or school library. I would find myself "lost in all of that KNOWLEDGE' and I loved it. It is a very different kind of "search."
Delete