The Library

R.A.D. Stainforth reads in his library voice...


I hover among shelves,

blissfully aware

of your brave new architecture,

your circular mind.

I look past the scaffold,

the crown of thorns

thrust high and piccadilly

from your unbridled wedding cake,

taste milk and water

you have turned to wine.

Miles of subtle volumes

pressed deep and still―

touchstones lodged

like pillars of salt,

more beholden in salvation,

than indulgence. 

tk/February 2013

Central Library, Manchester, U.K., photograph by Robin Gosnall 

Eastern State Pen

click to embiggen

The last time I was in Philly, I visited the Eastern State Penitentiary. It was first built in 1776 and was known as the Walnut Street Jail. In 1836, work was completed, and 450 cells were available to house inmates. Famous for its radial or wagon wheel floor plan, over 300 prisons worldwide have copied this architectural style. Some of America's most notorious criminals were held within the penitentiary's walls, including Willie Sutton and Al Capone. After being totally abandoned in 1971, preservation efforts continue and over 100,000 visitors a year tour the prison remains. It is amazing that this giant walled piece of history still stands in the midst of a bustling Philadelphia. So is it haunted? The negative energies were so dense, I had to leave after about twenty minutes.

Capone's cell ... obviously privileged
(click to embiggen)