Bianca Ma. Guerrero

Lit 137 A

Stone, Papyrus, Clay

There's a book lying open on the table

And a blank white

" "

Staring me in the face

Blinding me

With its backlit vastness spreading out

Before me.

Another window opens;

Glib gibberish

If Left (sLine, 3) = "Rem" Then

CleanUp Line = " "

Exit Function

End If

That make my sore eyes turn

To the pages of the book

Where cavemen sit

Surrounded by the stories

Painted on their home's stone walls,

Where Cleopatra sends out

A cmd – command – to her scribes

Scribbling furiously on delicate papyrus,

Where a potter's hands

Trace a lover's shape in the air

Molding a clay pot into form.

I close the book

And I'm left alone

With " "

Staring me in the face

Blinding me with its backlit emptiness –

One I cannot fill.