BLOCKS OF AIR

One afternoon at the university,
in the very old library
built with bricks,
that had the great history
and that had been superseded by the new building,
I was at one of the old desks alone.

Sitting at the desk,
I did not have any thought,
but I remembered a view of a certain professor
who had few students.

He was making a study of sociology,
and I was one of his few students.

One day, in his lecture, he had said,
“Learning needs a beautiful air.”
And he had advised us
to visit this old library.

Sitting at the old desk made of wood,
I only remembered what the professor had said.
I could not bring myself to study.
The inside of this library was dim and the air was heavy.
The windows were too small.
There were few books in the stacks.
No one else was there. I felt noise all the better for quietness.
I may have been under tension.

I left this place soon. I descended the narrow stairs.
I went out, and I thought I would not visit this old library again.
Although it was interesting, it brought me no idea besides a memory.

I saw this library from the outside.
Beyond question, it looked to be beautiful.
it was built with the blocks of past, lost, and beautiful air.
I thought that
we needed new blocks of beautiful air for learning.