Shelves That Groan

those who claim
to know it all
because they've lived
a life of experiences,
stacked like books
on shelves that groan
with the weight
of their own self-importance.

read everything
from Plato to
Philip Jose Farmer.
traveled the world
and back again.
seen it all.
done it all.
know it all.
they are it all.

but what about those
who appear
to know little?
their minds a blank
slate of uncertainty,
scribbles of doubt
under it's stoney surface?

are they not
the ones who truly
know the most?
their ignorance,
a shield
against the arrogance
of those who think
they've got it all
figured out,
the world a puzzle
solved and shelved?

those who see blacks
and whites?
who're color blind
to the shades of grey?

but what about
the questions
that linger
like shadows
on the walls
of their certainties?

don't they
haunt the halls
of their minds
like ghosts
of uncertainty?

the ones who know
the least,
aren't they
the ones who know
the most?