A word on words

A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.

I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

--Emily Dickinson

Walking among the books of the Chandler Public Library, I came across this wonderful poem by Emily Dickinson (I had read it before too, yet it sounded so new to me!). I was still admiring the collection, when a friend casually mentioned, "well, you can search for books online if want, too!". And the reply came to me almost naturally, "well, but then where is the surprise element? Nothing compares to the pleasure of coming across a book!" Search would just say, "book found in database," I doubt if the search-engine really found the book!

That apart, the whole concept of public libraries with free (again, free) access to all, is just mind blowing. And what's even better, the whole concept works here!

Walking in the aisles with book-racks filled with exciting topics and varied range, I admired Dickinson's words again. Perhaps ages ago, or maybe just the last month, all these words were said, were written. And then they came alive, of course! Who the hell said, "a word is dead; when it is said"? He must be the most boring creature around.

Or he may well be a dumb search engine, mentioning, a search is dead once found?