I roam this athenaeum
Seeking for the truth.
But hollow tomes lie rotted
Devoid of lasting sooth.

The sign upon the wall
"Beware of what you take,
In equivalent exchange,
A youthful heart will break."

Cobwebbed corners dimly lit
Hide visions of the past.
Let them lie in dusty heaps,
They were never meant to last.

Peeking through the columns
I see a distant gleam,
And make my way towards it,
Hand blocking growing sheen.

There hangs a polished mirror,
Shining in the shade
Bereft of all inscription
But set in stunning jade.

I see in the reflection
A face quite like my own
The eyes are starkly different,
Through lifetimes they have grown.

Long I stand in silence
Wondering if to speak
I just can't find the words,
Mind is growing weak...

Piercing gaze like daggers
Holds me in my stance,
Some peculiar magic
Has locked me in a trance.

"The ones who stood before you
Came here seeking wisdom.
Sadly with their hearts of stone,
There was nothing I could give them.

Tell me is yours open?
Free from worldly bonds?
Shed the shackles of the self?
And bathed in shining ponds?"

Searching for an answer,
I stumble through my mind.
Coming back with nothing,
My response I did decline.

"Your silence speaks of virtue
Hidden under flesh.
You've grown beyond the past,
But face one final test.

To leave this place at last,
You'll have to make a choice...
Give or take, it's up to you,
On how you use your voice."

Then the mirror Darkened,
The pall transformed to stone.
Just as I had started,
Again I stood alone.

As I though of what I came to find,
This emptiness returned.
And I realized the truth
Is not something you learn.

As the words came flooding in,
I chanted them at last.
The sound of silence rent,
And broke the shrouded glass.

"We already have all the answers.
We're just not asking the right questions."

© ThreeSixNine